Maybe it’s happened to you. You turn on the faucet, and you see drip, drip, drip after drip of water running from the pipe onto the floor. Maybe all you need to do is open up a drain to get a better look at a nasty clog. The job may be simple or complex, but if you don’t have the right plumbing tools, you can face a costly repair later on by a professional.
Steven Nagel, owner of American Leak Detection, Tampa, recommends that all homeowners have a few basic tools on hand in case of a plumbing problem or leak. These tools won’t fix every problem you might encounter, but they’ll get you through the basics issues.
- Channel locks: A channel lock is a tool similar to a wrench or a set of pliers and is often used in exactly the same way. Channel locks have one handle that is attached to a grove (channel) in the upper part of the other handle. The size of the lock opening is adjusted by moving the first handle up and down through the channel in the second handle. The advantage of this tool over sized wrenches is that the opening is fully adjustable, which allows for a very precise fit around a pipe fitting or fixture.
- Screwdrivers: Screwdrivers can be incredibly useful in removing fixtures or panels that hide plumbing. For example, you might use a screwdriver to remove the cover on a shower or basement drain. You don’t need to have a huge set of screwdrivers, but make sure that you include a few sizes in your tool box so that you can get a snug fit in the screw slots. A loose fit can strip your screw and make it much harder to get out. Also make sure that you have both flathead (standard single slot) screwdrivers and Phillips head screwdrivers in order to accommodate the two basic screw types.
- Teflon tape: This tape, also known as plumber’s tape, is an adhesive film made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It’s useful in sealing pipe threads as usually it’s just wrapped around the threads before the pipe is screwed in place. Various colors are available. But you’ll probably find it in white, since this is the natural color of PTFE. Widths and grades also vary, so make sure that the tape you use is resistant to grease and is the proper size to accommodate the pipe threads you want to wrap.
- PVC glue: Also known as PVC cement, this is a substance that is used to connect pipe joints. It chemically melts a thin layer of PVC pipe. When the melted pipe resolidifies, the cracks and air holes between the two pieces of PVC are closed, which forms an air- and watertight seal. Many plumbers use this in place of or prefer this to plumbing putty.
- PVC primer: PVC primer is a substance that is used to clean and prepare PVC pipe before PVC glue is applied.
- Mini hacksaw: Mini hacksaws can be used for cutting pipes to the appropriate length.
Nagel says that although the bare bones items in this list will get you by, it’s also handy to have a few other tools on hand for more complex jobs. Tools you might want to consider having in addition to the above basics include:
- a file or rasp to file down sharp pipe edges or fixtures
- a wire brush to clean pipe joints and threads
- a vice to hold your pipe while cutting or cleaning
- pliers
- a good adjustable monkey wrench.
If your plumbing job requires more than these tools, then it’s probably a good idea to call in a specialist such as those at American Leak Detection to help you.
