Forget common plumbing mishaps. Plumbing emergencies are a costly disaster. To start, you never see a plumbing emergency coming, and you have to pay for a professional's help.
It's a stressful situation, but you can prepare yourself by creating an emergency plumbing kit. Start with a sturdy, water-resistant tackle box. Fill it with necessary tools like these must-haves from the experts at Warner Service:
Flange Plunger
A flange plunger is an everyday household item. It’s one of the most recognizable plumbing tools and comes in different sizes and shapes. It’s used to clear basic clogs in a toilet. The plunger creates a vacuum with every up-and-down motion. This vacuum generates a large amount of water force that's used to flush out a small clog.
Note: A flange plunger is different than a cup-shaped plunger. The flange-shaped plunger is shaped to seal off the toilet hole.
5-Gallon Bucket
A 5-gallon bucket is a simple, but versatile tool to have handy during a plumbing emergency. Use it to store supplies or catch leaking water.
Adjustable Pipe Wrench
An adjustable pipe wrench is another recognizable tool in an emergency plumbing kit. Adjustable wrenches vary in the size of the jaw head, shape, purpose, and handle size. The most common use for an adjustable pipe wrench is to tighten pipes.
This prevents minor and major leaks in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements. You can also remove and fit plumbing fixtures with this tool. Use it by tightening the wrench around a pipe using the knurled knob. Because of the serrated edges of the wrench, overall pressure increases when the wrench turns.
Note: Duct tape must be used as a barrier on the pipe to prevent teeth marks when using an adjustable pipe wrench.
Extra Towels
When water is leaking from your faucet or pipes, you’ll need something to soak up the water quickly to prevent water damage to your various surfaces. Instead of throwing away old bathroom, kitchen, or beach towels, save them for your plumbing kit.
Tape & Putty
When faced with a minor leak, duct tape is a suitable but temporary solution. It will buy you enough time to come up with a more permanent fix to the problem or call a professional to the scene. Plumber’s tape is used to seal metal-on-metal threads that are leaking. Plumber’s putty also seals off leaks, whether it’s a punctured PVC pipe or a leaky joint connection.
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If you have an emergency, contact Warner Service in Frederick. We'll help you right away.