What You Need In Your Emergency Home Plumbing Kit
You know you’ve become a grown-up when you keep a home plumbing kit in your home or apartment. Such a move is a signal to yourself that you’re ready for those little (and sometimes, big) home emergencies that inevitably happen. If, on the other hand, you haven’t put together a home plumbing kit and know that you need to, here are some items that any useful plumbing repair kit has.
1. Work Lights
Whether you equip your home plumbing kit with some large flashlights or an industrial clip light, you’re going to want a good source of light.
One of the reasons why plumbing emergencies are so inconvenient, besides all the spilled water, is that the pipes and other parts that need fixing often live in the dark areas of our homes.
That is, you find them under the sink, behind the walls, and under the lid of your toilet tank. Having good lighting ensures that you can see what you’re doing while you work.
Flashlights provide you with a mobile light source that allows you to direct the light source where you need it most, whereas industrial clip lights clip or hang on cabinet doors or knobs to give you a large pool of general light to work by.
2. Plungers for the Toilet, Sinks, and Drains
As far as home repair and emergency kits go, toilet plungers count as staple items. However, it isn’t only the toilet that gets clogged. Kitchen and bathroom drains become clogged as well.
If times are desperate, it is possible to use the toilet plunger on any drain that’s clogged. However, you may have better luck if you have two plungers in your emergency kit.
Buy a regular toilet plunger for jobs specifically concerning the toilet. Buy a mini-plunger for the other drain issues. In the latter case, they’re smaller and fit better in small spaces, like the bathroom sink.
3. A Five-Gallon Bucket
When the water in your tub, shower, or sink starts to spill over, the first thing you’ll need is a large bucket and some towels. A five-gallon bucket allows you to at least contain the emergency while you’re getting your other repair items lined up, or if the situation’s really serious, get a plumber over to your home or apartment.
4. A Snake
If at first you plunge and it doesn’t work, then go and get the snake. The plumbing snake allows you to get to tough clogs that don’t respond to plunging and liquid clog removers. Both manual and electric snakes are available on the market. An electric snake offers you more options in terms of the power you can put into removing the clog. Keep in mind that there are different size snakes for the various drain lines throughout your house and those that give the best results are those used by professional plumbers–with a price point to match.
5. A Standard Tool Kit
When you have to remove a pipe or replace the knobs on your bathroom faucets, you’ll need more than a plunger. You’ll need tools. Pipe wrenches, pliers, and other tools may not be a part of your plumbing repair kit, but they should be close by.
6. Rubber Gloves
Unfortunately, plumbing emergencies equal messy emergencies. Sometimes, the mess consists of just water. At other times, the mess consists of stuff you don’t want on your hands.
A box of disposable rubber gloves kept in your home plumbing kit protects you from at least some of the effects of the spill. (Think bacteria and other harmful substances that could be lurking in the mess’s aftermath.)
7. Knowledge and Being Proactive
One of the most important parts of creating an effective and prepared home plumbing kit is understanding where the shut-off valve is and how to use it. In case of an emergency such as a burst pipe or overflowing sink, you need to be able to quickly shut off the water supply. This can usually be done by turning a knob or lever near the sink, toilet, or water heater.
It is also important to be proactive in spotting potential problems and getting help before they become emergencies. Make sure you have a reliable plumber’s number handy and don’t hesitate to call them if you notice any signs of a plumbing problem. A little bit of proactive maintenance can go a long way in preventing plumbing disasters!
Creating an effective home plumbing kit is essential for managing any kind of plumbing problem that may arise. Having the right supplies and knowing how to use them will make it easier to handle whatever issue comes your way! Making sure you have the necessary items in your home plumbing kit is important, but also being aware of potential issues and taking proactive steps to prevent them is equally as important. Being prepared with the right tools and knowledge will give you peace of mind that your plumbing repair job will go as smoothly as possible.
Some Thoughts Before You Put Your Kit Together
When you’re putting together your home plumbing kit, you need to decide if you’ll go with one universal kit that you carry from room to room or if you’ll have smaller kits, like a kitchen sink plumbing kit for the kitchen and a bath and shower plumbing kit for your bathroom.
The second approach offers you some advantages. First, if you have a true emergency where time is of the essence, like a major pipe problem, that room’s plumbing repair kit stands at the ready. Secondly, it allows you to keep specific tools in the rooms that need them the most. For example, you won’t need a toilet tank repair kit in the kitchen. As such, those items don’t need to be in your
kitchen plumbing repair kit.
Third, if you have a very large home, having more than one plumbing repair kit in the house allows you to keep kits on all the floors of your house, saving you the time and energy of having to walk up and down the stairs to retrieve a kit that’s stored on a different floor than the one where the emergency is happening.
Is the job more than you can handle with your DIY plumbing kit? Call Plumb Works!
Being able to fix your home plumbing emergencies gives you a sense of pride and places you solidly in the grown-ups club. Keeping supplies on hand to help you when the faucet leaks or the toilet spills over helps reduce the possible damage that plumbing emergencies can cause.
However, it’s also important to keep in mind that some home plumbing emergencies require more expertise than you yourself may have, even with the help of lots of YouTube videos.
If that turns out to be the case, then it’s okay to call an
emergency plumber. In some circumstances, it’s probably best that you do. If you are unskilled at plumbing and try to fix a big plumbing issue, you may wind up causing more damage. If you discover that your plumbing emergency is more than you know how to fix, give us a call at Plumb Works today!
