Plumbing Knowledge and Equipment

Many people try to resolve their plumbing issues themselves, without the help of a qualified, licensed plumber.

In order to successfully complete a plumbing project, you basically need to be covered in two areas: plumbing knowledge and plumbing equipment. You must know what you’re doing and you must have the right tools, otherwise you can get yourself into some deep trouble (pun intended).

Plumbing Knowledge

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There is no substitute for knowing what you’re doing. Doing it yourself at home, without knowing exactly what you’re doing, is not the way to go. If you are going to do it yourself, you need training and experience. Books, videos, how-to websites and podcasts exist all over the Internet, and you can use those resources to learn and improve your knowledge of any plumbing issue. But don’t begin a do-it-yourself plumbing project until you know exactly what you’re doing.

Plumbing Equipment:

Without the right tools, you can never succeed in any plumbing project. Each plumbing job requires the right tools. These tools are sometimes simple to use, and are sometimes extremely complex.

For example, let’s say you have a clogged toilet. To remove a toilet stoppage, there are different tools you could use, depending on the nature and seriousness of the stoppage. A simple stoppage can often be removed with a plunger. If the plunger doesn’t work, you will need an augering device, also known as a “plumbing snake”. Simple plumbing augers are turned by hand: for more complex jobs, there are electric-powered augering tools.

If your toilet stopppage is further down the line, it could very well be a sewer line problem. To remove obstructions in the  sewer line, you will need either an electrically-powered augering tool or a Hydrojet machine. The Hydrojet machine is easily the way to go: it generates a powerful jet of water up to 5,000 lbs per square inch and literally blasts away the obstruction and washes it away, unlike an augering tool which may sometimes only bore a hole in the obstruction and the line will soon become clogged again.

It also helps if you have a video camera that you can use to camera the line – both before and after the job. A good plumber will have this equipment and knows how to use it. A plumber will usually camera the sewer line to determine the exact location and nature of the obstruction. After clearing the obstruction, the plumber will again camera the line to make sure the obstruction has been successfully removed. If you don’t have the right equipment, you cannot succeed.