Plumbing Dad: To DIY or Not to DIY

Father’s Day is a good time to reflect on why we love our dads and appreciate all that they do for us to keep us happy and safe. Your first driving lesson, was it dad in the passenger seat keeping you calm and focused?

Or, perhaps dad was there to chase the monsters away each night? While our dads can be amazing and fill our lives with joy and wonder, they weren’t always perfect. Any botched DIY jobs come to mind?

We know there’s plenty of fix-it jobs that dad pulled off beautifully, but sometimes things are best left to the experts, like plumbing adjustments. Let’s take a look at some DIY jobs that well-intentioned fathers should stay away from.

Let the Experts Handle the New Toilet Installation

With any new toilet installation, new pieces of your existing plumbing will need to be switched out and replaced.

The necessary new plumbing for your toilet could mean a new water line, potentially a new drain or lateral connections, new water intakes, pipe rearrangement, among other things.

Why can these things present a problem? Let’s count the ways:

• Flooding
• Water main breaks
• Incorrect or unnecessary pipe placement
• Sewer Damage
• Broken new toilet
• Pipes rearranged incorrectly and leading into the wrong spot or wrong pipe

So, next time dad’s itching for a new project, tell him to leave the toilet installation to the professionals!

Leave the Duct Tape Out of the Water Leak Repair

Duct tape fixes a lot of problems, but tell dad to put his trusty roll down when it comes to repairing a leaky pipe. Water leak repairs should be taken seriously and acted on quickly because they can cause a slew of problems when they aren’t dealt with properly. Let’s look at some potential issues:

• A leaky pipe that isn’t repaired quickly or correctly can lead to increased water bills. While a leak may be small, if it’s continuously dripping, that will add up over time. No one wants a huge water bill at the end of the month!
• Mold can be a serious problem if water is leaking into where it shouldn’t be. The presence of mold can cause serious health problems to those in your home, so it’s important that leaks are addressed correctly to ensure water stays flowing where it should.
• Depending on where and how large it is, a leak can cause some serious property damage. You can see things from crumbling foundations to damaged or destroyed drywall all from the likes of a tiny leak.

If you’re hearing that drip, drip, drip, be sure to promptly call the experts in to repair it!

Please Don’t Snake the Drain Yourself

When you have a clogged toilet or pipe, it can be tempting to just snake the drain yourself; but, this can be an expensive mistake. Here’s why:

• Injury, yes injury, can happen with incorrect usage of a snake - especially a motorized one!
• If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can actually damage the porcelain of your sink or toilet. Not only can the damage look bad, but it can actually shorten the lifespan of the toilet or sink and cause the porcelain to deteriorate faster.
• Pipe damage is common with incorrect snake usage, especially on older galvanized pipe systems. With damage can come rust and a weakened pipe system which can lead to a failure of your home’s plumbing system.

Just tell dad to remember, the next time you need drain cleaning, avoid costly mistakes or injuries and just call in the pros!

Look, we’re not saying dear ole’ dad shouldn’t DIY to his heart’s content; remember when you’d find him every Saturday doing everything around the house from plunging the faulty toilet to fixing your broken bike for the millionth time?

Seriously, what would we do without our amazing dads? Just, next time the toilet explodes or the drain won’t unclog, remind your dad that it’s times like these that call for a little extra help.