- Hey guys, my name's Aaron Massey from MrFixItDIY.com
and today I'm here to talk to you about
the top five DIY plumbing tools I think every
homeowner should own.
(upbeat electric guitar music)
Plumbing is one of those things that most homeowners
try to stay clear of and they dread having to deal with,
but I'm here to show you the top five tools
I think every homeowner should own
that can tackle the majority of household plumbing issues
and save you from making really expensive
calls to a plumber.
Number five is a water pressure testing gauge.
This tool costs around 10 bucks
and isn't something you'll use all the time,
but it's definitely worth having in your arsenal
and here's why.
If you have public water, the pressure that the town
or the city sends to your house
is substantially higher than the pressure
the valves and fixtures in your house are rated for.
Your house or apartment has something like this,
which is a pressure regulator valve
that converts the pressure the city sends to your house
to levels that are safe for your valves and fixtures;
usually less than 60 psi.
Using a water pressure gauge can help you
dial in your water pressure to suitable levels
for your house and also help diagnose a problem,
like if your regulator fails,
like mine did last year.
If this happens the water pressure in your house spikes
and can cause problems with your fixtures
and it can cause a dangerous situation
with your water tank if your temperature
and pressure valve is not working properly.
The bottom line is having a tool like this around
and checking your water pressure periodically
is a relatively cheap and easy way to stay on top of
potentially expensive problems before they start.
Number four is a blow torch.
Since pex has come around, DIY plumbing
has gotten significant easier.
But if you watch some of my other videos
you know I still like to use copper in moderation.
Using copper requires soldering joints together
and you can't do that without a blow torch.
Even if you aren't comfortable or interested
in soldering your own copper joints together
a blow torch is still a useful tool,
especially if you live in an older home
with galvanized piping.
These pipes are threaded together and over time
they can be extremely difficult to get apart.
Applying heat to them with a blowtorch
can help loosen them.
Which brings me to my next tool, which is a pipe wrench.
A pipe wrench is a must have is you live in an older home.
There's no way you're gonna get galvanized pipes apart
without a pipe wrench.
And even with a pipe wrench it can be a tremendous
pain in the ass.
(equipment rattling)
Also drain clean out caps around your home
are likely larger than any typical wrench
you'd have lying around.
So having a pipe wrench handy
means you can easily take off a clean out cap
to access otherwise difficult clogs.
Number two is a shop vac.
A shop vac is one of my absolute must have tools
when it come to DIY plumbing.
Not only is a shop vac great for cleaning up water spills
and messes from overflows,
but it can also be used to clear most clogs
in sink and shower drains as well.
Remove the filter from the shop vac then fill up
your tub or sink with a little bit of water
in the bottom and plug the overflow with a wet rag.
Stick the shop vac hose down in to make sure
you get a nice tight seal around the drain.
And then just suck out the clog.
A shop vac is a much cheaper and much more
effective alternative to using costly
drain cleaning chemicals.
So I recommend that everybody gets one.
And my number one DIY plumbing tool is a pair of
channel locks or adjustable pliers.
A pair of channel locks is the tool I reach for
and use in every single DIY plumbing project that I tackle,
whether it's loosening up slip joints on trap assemblies
or installing shut off valves.
Without a pair of these,
you're pretty much not gonna be able to do
any plumbing projects.
Which is why I consider them the most valuable tool
in my tool pouch when it comes to plumbing.
So that's it for this episode of Top Five DIY.
You can grab all these tools for less than $150.00.
Which is less than you'd pay a plumber to come out
for a single visit.
And with them you can tackle probably 90%
of household plumbing issues.
If you guys like this video
please hit that like button
and leave a comment down below and let me know.
And let me know what other top five DIYs
you'd like to see next.
If you'd like to check out more of my DIY
and home improvement related videos,
I'll leave links to those right here,
or you can always visit my website at MrFixItDIY.com.
Thank you guys so much for watching
and I'll see you next time.
(upbeat, electric guitar pop music)