You never really know how useful plumbing tools are until you experience a more serious problem with your pipes. When something goes wrong and you require a plumber to come and fix it, it means that there’s not much time for wasting. But, some people prefer to do this on their own, instead of paying for plumbing service. This is perfectly fine, although we’re not sure whether the final results will be the same or not. After all, a professional is a professional, and they know how to do this in the best way possible.
But, sometimes people like to take things into their own hands, which is why we decided to create this quick buyer’s guide. As we know already, there are numerous tools on the market that you can purchase, some being more expensive than others. However, the entire point of not hiring a plumber and fixing this issue on your own is saving money, and you won’t save money by purchasing the most expensive tools.
Thankfully, today we’re going to list some of the best items that cost less than twenty-five dollars, so if you’re willing to learn some more, feel free to continue reading until the end. Let’s take a look.
1. A Wrench
You cannot do anything related to plumbing without using a wrench. It’s crucial for any type of work that’s hardware-related, especially this one. Wrenches come in all shapes and sizes, and you must understand which ones are used for a certain task. There’s the pipe wrench, the basin wrench, and the adjustable wrench.
It’s recommended you have a toolkit that includes all of these in it, but if you can’t afford them all, get only one that will do the job for your particular case. Purchasing a wrench separately will always cost less than twenty-five bucks.
2. A plumber’s Torch
Sometimes the leak will be coming out of a crack, and to seal that crack you have to use heat. The best way to do this is by using a plumber’s torch. You can find one for less than twenty-five dollars in your local hardware store. As far as different types go, you can’t go wrong with it.
Only the size and the intensity at which the heat is applied can vary, but that’s not too important unless you’re a professional. Be careful when you’re using these, they pack some serious heat and you can get hurt if you’re not using protection.
3. Safety Goggles
This is not exactly a tool, but it is something that you should never begin working without. Goggles are important, especially if you’re using the item that we just mentioned above, the torch. Even if you’re not fiddling around and using heat, you should still use goggles because if a pipe burst and hot water hit your eyes, your eyesight can be damaged permanently. If you think that the task is too difficult for you, waterdamagekansas.com is a site where you can consider a few options regarding help. You’ll immediately notice that professionals always use goggles, even when they’re preparing for the task.
4. A Screwdriver Set
You never know if you’ll run into a task that requires you to unscrew something, so you shouldn’t even begin without having this by your side. You’ll have to seal everything up just so that you can go back to the hardware store to buy a bunch of screwdrivers. These usually come in sets, but you’re most likely going to find one that can be purchased as an individual item. There are a lot of different types of screws that you can unscrew with this tool, which is why we recommend that you have an entire set ready by your side. For about 25$ dollars you can get a few.
5. The Hand Auger
This is the most signature plumbing item that you can get, and it shouldn’t cost more than $10. You probably have one at home, but you’re not aware of it since you never had to use it in the past. A hand auger will let you push a cable down the drain so you can unclog it. It’s not as easy to do this compared to using the snake machine, which is the automated version, but it’s a basic tool and it is what everything started from.
Some people even use the cable part of this tool on its own, but it’s not an easy task twisting it until it gets into the drain. If you have zero experience with this, we suggest that you hire a professional to do it for you instead. You can easily get hurt when using the auger if you’re not careful enough.
6. Anti-Heat Pads
Professional plumbers have this because they are using the torch tool quite often, but you as a complete beginner will probably be able to skip this step. However, if you want to slowly build up your plumbing set of tools, then this is something that you should purchase. Heat shields cost about 25 dollars, depending on the brand of course, but they enhance your safety a lot, as well as the safety of the environment.
7. An Advanced Plunger
Almost every person has a plunger at home, but those plungers are nowhere near as powerful as the advanced versions that professional plumbers have. If you don’t even have a regular one, we suggest purchasing, they are usually around $10 and are available in a lot of stores, and even the most popular supermarkets have them. But, if you need something stronger, go for the heavy-duty ones. The amount of suction they produce will help you unclog the drain very quickly and without much effort.
Conclusion
Plumbing-related problems occur in almost every home, and once they do, you have to find a way to fix them as quickly as possible. Ignoring a red-flag is never a good idea when it comes to something that can cause a lot of materialistic damage to your property. Don’t risk a flood, check the issue out, and call a professional plumber if needed.