Learning how to perform some simple plumbing repairs at home can save you a ton of money and time. Even if you learn how to fix a running toilet or a leaky faucet and leave the big-time repairs to the pros, the savings can add up. But you’ve got to be careful. Although it might be tempting to roll up your sleeves and try to fix everything yourself, you can sometimes make it worse.

Plenty of homeowners make easily avoidable mistakes when they try to fix plumbing issues. Here are a few DIY plumbing mistakes to avoid from the pros at Roman Electric. Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to tell when a problem is too complicated to fix yourself – when that happens, just give us a call!

Leaky Faucet Mistakes

Although not everyone will suffer a major plumbing problem, most of us will have to deal with a leaky faucet at some point. And while some leaky faucets are easy DIY fixes, you need to be careful to avoid making some common mistakes.

• Get all the pieces out. When you replace a disintegrated washer or rubber seal inside the faucet, be sure to remove any pieces that might’ve gotten stuck in the faucet itself. If you don’t clean the faucet out, these loose fragments can lodge in the faucet and cause an obstruction that will cause bigger problems later.
• Cut the water off. This goes for every plumbing issue, but it’s especially prevalent when working on a faucet. People forget to turn the water supply off more often than you’d think.

Using Drain Cleaner as a First Resort

When you’ve got a clogged drain, you might be tempted to pour some drain cleaner down there and just be done with it. However, these harsh chemicals should only be used after you’ve exhausted every other option.

You should start off with a drain snake or augur that will physically remove any clogs. Only if that doesn’t work should you move on to drain cleaner.

Not Remembering/Documenting How Things Fit Together

You’d be shocked at the amount of times someone has disassembled a plumbing apparatus to fix a problem only to realize they forgot how it all fits back together. If you’re performing a DIY plumbing repair, take a picture to see how it all should look when it’s connected.

Alternatively, if you’ve got a photographic memory, you can just remember the layout of the pieces instead. We’d just recommend taking a picture, though.

Tightening Things Too Much

It’s natural to screw something on until it feels like it can’t go any further. But this can be problematic. Although it might not snap or break right then, all that water pressure can build up. And without any room to expand, the connections can burst at the slightest sign of strain. Leave some room when you’re tightening it all back together.

There you have it! These were just a few of the more common DIY plumbing mistakes we’ve encountered, but this barely scratches the surface. When you’ve got a plumbing issue, don’t risk accidentally making the problem worse – get in touch with us here at Roman Electric, and let the experts handle it!

Give us a call at 414-369-3798 to learn more about how we can be your go-to plumbers in the Milwaukee area!