I like to think I'm quite handy around the house, but there's one thing I'm reluctant to handle. If there are any issues with the plumbing, I would rather have someone else take care of it. Some small problems are easy to fix on my own, but when it gets more complicated, I would rather not be the one in charge.
I don't want to end up with dirty water sprayed all over me or a
flooding bathroom! Still, I'm not afraid to take on a dripping tap or at least try to identify a problem before calling out a plumber. Before you reach for your phone and emergency contacts, here are some things you can do.
Scott FeldsteinDealing with an Emergency
Sometimes your plumbing issue is an emergency. There's no time to do anything except call a plumber. You don't want to be wandering around the house trying to solve the problem while the water level rises. If you've suffered a plumbing disaster, turning off the water should be your first step. It will help to prevent any further damage to your home, and, of course, make the issue easier to deal with. You then should call
All-Tex Plumbing or a similar service to provide you with emergency work on your plumbing system. They should be able to come out as soon as possible and set your home to rights.
Work Out the Problem
If your problem is as pressing, you won't need to call someone out right away. But that doesn't mean that it isn't annoying. A dripping tap, blocked drain, or groaning pipe isn't something you want to put up with. So your first step in non-emergency situations should be to find out what the cause of the problem. For example, if one of your sinks isn't draining properly, you can check if it's just that one or if it's happening throughout the house. If the problem is only occurring in one sink, you know it's that particular pipe and not the whole system.
RickCheck for Solutions
Once you know what's going on, you can find out what you can do about it. You might be surprised by how many
DIY plumbing tasks you can do around the house. If you want to equip yourself, one of the best things you can do is get a book about plumbing. You'll find plenty of information in a book like Plumbing for Dummies. I find that a resource book is useful, but you might prefer something more technological. There's lots of information on the internet, and you can carry it around the house on your tablet or smartphone.
DIY or Call an Expert
Once you've had a look at a solution, you can decide whether you can do it yourself or if you should call someone. There will be some issues that you might choose not to fix. Plumbers are the experts, after all, and they have much more experience and knowledge than you. But you can still read up on how to solve the problem so you know what the plumber is doing.
Plumbing problems can be a pain, but you can fix them with ease. If you can't do it yourself, a plumber is just a phone call away.