The Pitfalls of DIY Plumbing

What are the most common DIY plumbing mistakes?

Trusting those YouTube videos: Just because it’s online, looks like it’s been well made and the chap introducing it is wearing a set of overalls, it doesn’t mean you should use it to guide you in your efforts.

Using the wrong tools

Times are hard, and it looks like things aren’t going to be getting any easier any time soon. We’re all having to watch our spending and many of us are having to make significant cutbacks.

If you have a technical mind or consider yourself handy at a bit of DIY, that might include tackling jobs at home that you might otherwise get a professional in to sort out. Naturally, there are a few things you should never consider doing yourself, particularly anything involving gas or electricity.

When it comes to plumbing, on the other hand, you might wonder if the potential savings might make it worth giving it a go. After all, you might be thinking, there are instruction videos on YouTube for every kind of DIY task imaginable – just train yourself up and give it a go. But you should remember that if you get it wrong, the damage you do could prove catastrophic and end up costing you considerably more than getting it fixed by a professional would have done.

This month, the team at A&D Plumbing is going to look at some of the major pitfalls involved in DIY plumbing, and why you’ll nearly always be better off trusting the experts.

A professional plumber who knows what he or she is doing will literally have all the ‘tools of the trade’ that they need. An enthusiastic amateur, however, will often be tempted to make do with what’s available. That could be disastrous, because the moment you discover that the tool you’re using isn’t appropriate for the job in question is almost certainly going to be at a critical time that could result in you flooding your home with water you suddenly can’t switch off.

Overtightening joints and connections

There’s a certain amount of bravado involved with tackling jobs you know you’re not qualified for, and the temptation can be to ‘make sure’ everything is done properly. That can include using unnecessary force when it comes to tightening fittings and pipe connections. That can easily cause small splits you might not notice and which could cause serious problems later on.

Incorrect use of PTFE tape

Pretty much every plumber will have a roll of PTFE tape in his or her toolbox, because it’s a versatile tape that can be used to seal threaded connections, whether they’re carrying water, gas, or air, and is particularly reliable on high-pressure lines. But it must be used in the direction of the thread, which will nearly always be clockwise – applying it the wrong way means it won’t seal the joint. Other common PTFE tape mistakes include using it on PVC fittings or on the thread of a compression fitting.

When Do I Need An Emergency Plumber?

There are a number of scenarios in which you should always engage the services of emergency plumbers who know what they are doing. These include:

Burst pipes
Frozen pipes
Water leaks
Boiler issues
Gas leaks
LPG gas issues
Blocked and overflowing toilets
No water or low water pressure
And more!

Out-of-hours plumbing services

Don’t take chances with your most valuable asset – your home – when you suffer a plumbing emergency.

Here at A&D Plumbing, we offer reliable, professional and comprehensive plumbing services and LPG Gas Safe engineers, all available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our team of emergency plumbers work in and around Colchester, Braintree and Ipswich.