Essential Plumbing Tools for Emergencies

Understanding Common Plumbing Emergencies

Emergency plumbing situations crucial to address include burst pipes, blocked drains, and hot water system failures. Without prompt action, these incidents can lead to substantial water damage.

A burst water pump can release hundreds of litres into a building, wreaking havoc on walls, floors, and personal property. A blocked drain can also flood homes with sewage backups. Understanding malfunctioning hot water systems is essential, as they limit access to hot water for essential tasks until repaired.

Equipped with the appropriate emergency plumbing tools, you can temporarily manage urgent issues until a plumber arrives. Being prepared with basic plumbing tools and taking quick action can significantly mitigate the impact of a plumbing emergency, reducing repair bills and headaches down the road.

Essential Hand Tools for Plumbing Repairs

Every household should have essential tools ready to tackle common plumbing repairs. Some essential plumbing tools that your toolbox should contain include various implements every adept homeowner requires:

• Adjustable wrenches are vital for gripping and turning nuts, bolts, and fittings, with sizes like 10-12 inches suitable for most home repairs.
• The basin wrench, designed to reach behind sinks and toilets, is perfect for removing nuts and fittings in tight spaces.
• Groove pliers - Allow a firm grip and leverage on pipes, nuts and fittings in those hard to reach areas.
• Hacksaws and blades - These important plumbing tools can used to cut plastic, copper, and steel pipes just below the needed length for installations.
• Pipe cutters, a crucial subset of tubing cutters - A tool any plumber should have for cleanly cutting copper tubing with a sharp blade.
• Plumber’s tape, also known as PTFE tape, provides a secure thread seal, an essential tool for achieving a tight connection on pipe threads.
• A sturdy torch - Useful for soldering copper pipes and seeing inside dark drain passages.
• Protective equipment like safety goggles, gloves to safeguard your hands in your home, knee pads, and dust masks will also prevent injury.

Wrenches

A pipe wrench can tweak nuts and bolts, a versatility that makes it a significant tool in any plumber’s toolkit. There are several types of wrenches used to serve different purposes:

• Pipe wrenches, an important plumbing tool, with their adjustable, jaw-like design allow plumbers to grip rounded pipes and fittings tightly. Useful when loosening tightening stuck connections.
• Basin wrenches - Perfectly shaped to fit into the narrow spaces around your kitchen sink and shower drains, and under-sink tailpieces.
• Adjustable wrenches, which can adjusted with ease, allow the jaw size to be tailored to grip various bolt and nut sizes. Choose a 10-12 inch adjustable wrench for typical plumbing tasks.

A variety of wrench types and sizes are indispensable for diverse plumbing tasks at home. For your plumbing tasks, smaller wrenches provide precision work in tight areas, while larger wrenches offer the necessary gripping torque for seized connections.

Pliers

Pliers are a versatile hand tool used by plumbers to grip, twist, tighten or loosen fittings, nuts, pipes and components. There are several types of pliers tailored to various plumbing tasks:

• Tongue-and-groove pliers are commonly used due to their adjustable jaw, which provides a secure grip on various plumbing elements. Their adjustable jaw allows a secure grip on rounded pipes, fittings and nuts, which can be used cut to various sizes.
• Locking pliers (Vise-Grips) clamp items tightly and prevent slippage while applying torque.
• Needle nose pliers are useful for reaching into narrow spaces and gripping small items.

Properly adjusting all tools, including pliers, is crucial to avoid plumbing issues like stripping pipe threads or damaging sensitive plumbing fixtures. Often pliers are used in situations where components have seized up and need freeing. Owning multiple types of pliers empowers you with the versatility needed to tackle a range of plumbing repairs, including stubborn connections.

Hacksaws

Hacksaws are hand tools used by plumbers to pull out and cut through pipes and other materials in preparation for installing new components. They feature a thin arched blade held in a metal frame with a handle for grip and control.

Plumbers rely on hacksaws to precisely cut materials such as metal, PVC, copper, and galvanised steel to specific lengths for fitting connections. Having blades for different materials is important - using a metal cutting blade on PVC can leave ragged edges.

Plumbers should have spare blades on hand, which are readily available at any hardware store.

Basic plumbing tools, such as hacksaws, require proper use including marking cut lines on pipes, securing them to prevent twisting, and using smooth strokes as the blade cuts through material. Burrs and rough edges left after cutting may need to be smoothed with a metal file before jointing.

Specialty Plumbing Tools

Beyond basic hand tools, plumbers use specialized equipment for targeted repair, installation, and inspection tasks.

Tubing Cutters

A tubing cutter provides quick, clean cuts through copper pipes. They clamp around the tubing and feature a sharp blade that slices through pipe walls while the tool is rotated. This leaves an even, burr-free cut ready for fittings.

Pipe Reamers

After cutting, pipe ends may have minor burrs or ridges. Reaming tools smooth the inside to prevent flow disruption and leakage at joints. Some tubing cutters integrate reaming heads for convenience.

Flaring Tools

These specialty wrenches flair out the end of copper tubing to allow flare fittings to seal securely over them. Effective flaring requires skill and knowledge of tubing dimensions.

Threading Dies

For effective drain cleaning, plumbers use threading dies with a special wrench to cut pipe threads, ensuring a secure assembly with fittings. Matching the die carefully to pipe diameter is crucial.

Drain Cameras

Waterproof cameras mounted on cables enable visual inspections of drain lines to identify blockages and issues, streamlining the diagnostic process.

Locating Equipment

Electronic pipe and wire locators detect subsurface plumbing layouts without excavation. Useful for tracing tricky problems and identifying fixture networks.

Plungers

Plungers, tools any homeowner can use, are indispensable to unclog your sink, tub and toilet. There are two main types - cup and flange - with distinct purposes:

Cup Plungers

Cup plungers, a powerful tool to unclog blockage your drain boasts a flexible rubber cup perched atop a long handle. The cup fits over drain openings to form a tight seal.

Flange/Toilet Plungers

Toilet augers, critical for more challenging clogs in your toilet, have a large domed rubber cup which is essentially a flange plunger with a small conical flange extending from the bottom. Flange plungers insert into the toilet drain, with the cup creating an airtight seal to effectively clear blockages.

Using either a cup plunger or toilet auger takes patience and it’s important to make sure to execute the proper technique. Ensure a tight seal, then pump forcefully 10-20 times to break up blockages before they discharge down pipes. Caution is required to prevent scratching fixtures.

Repeat as needed.

Augers/Drain Snakes

A hand auger, also known as a drain auger or drain snake, is a useful tool for clearing stubborn clogs that remain after using a plunger. They feature a long, flexible metal cable wound around a reel with a crank handle.

The metal tip at the end helps dislodge and break up the obstruction as it rotates and advances farther down the pipe.

Selecting a properly sized auger ensures optimal clearance of blockages.

Controlled, careful rotation and insertion is key to prevent pipe damage. Over-cranking or puncturing pipe walls with the tip risks destabilising pipe joints. Some care should be taken on older pipes.

Drain augers are an inexpensive option for home repairs and often the go-to tool when need arises, before calling a professional plumber.

Cameras

Specialty plumbing cameras are an invaluable tool for plumbers to visually inspect the inside of pipes and drains. These waterproof cameras attached to long cables can be fed down into drain lines, allowing emergency plumbers to diagnose issues that may not be noticeable or accessible from the outside.

Utilising drain cameras, integral to assessing drain issues, provides plumbers with direct insight, eliminating guesswork during diagnostics. They save plumbers significant time compared to invasive exploratory excavation. The real-time video and images provides plumbers clear evidence of the interior pipe condition to determine accurate solutions.

Different camera head sizes allow inspection of various pipe diameters, including your shower drain to large main sewer lines. For tricky situations, investing some time with a camera probe can quickly resolve drainage problems that would otherwise take hours to diagnose.

Having drain camera equipment on their emergency repair trucks allows plumbers to concretely show homeowners and businesses the source of their issues. This builds trust and prevents expensive unnecessary repairs. Catching small pipe problems early also avoids extensive damage or outright failure down the track.

When to Call a Professional Plumber

While having the proper tools allows you to tackle minor plumbing repairs on your own, our team of plumbers is best for addressing more complex issues at Beverly Hills Plumbing. Professional plumbers have years of experience and expertise in conducting plumbing work with specialised equipment.

It’s best to call a professional plumber in scenarios such as:

• To fix leaks in major pipes or burst lines. The extensive water damage and flooding risks require urgent containment.
• Main sewer clogs that persist after attempts to auger. Professional hydrojetting equipment is often needed.
• Gas line leaks. Natural gas is extremely hazardous if mishandled and requires certified technicians.
• Major bathroom renovations or re-piping jobs. Professionals ensure compliance with regulations.
• Electrical hot water system repairs. It’s best to remember that handling live wiring safely requires training.
• Appliance installations. Proper ventilation, seals and connections are critical.

Attempting complex DIY plumbing without a licensed plumber risks injury, property damage, and code violations. It often ends up more expensive than hiring a professional initially.

The licenced plumbers at Beverly Hills Plumbing have the expertise to diagnose and efficiently repair any plumbing issue.Contact us at 1300 349 338 or [email protected] to schedule no-obligation appointments.