It might be tempting to repair your plumbing yourself when on a budget. However, most plumbing issues are tricky to fix or resolve unless you are an expert plumber. Additionally, your DIY repair efforts might end up damaging the plumbing system, even more, leading to higher repair costs in the future or even immediately.
At Craig’s Plumbing, we always advise against DIY plumbing repairs. However, it is essential to stress the plumbing jobs you should never attempt to do yourself. Instead, call a professional plumbing expert if you experience any of the plumbing issues below in your Las Vegas, NV commercial or residential property.
Unclogging the Sewer Pipe
Is your sewer pipe leaking or blocked? Never attempt to fix it yourself unless you have plumbing training. The sewer line is a vital plumbing installation at your home, and the sewage may be harmful to your health and your family. Therefore, it is too hazardous to attempt repairing the sewer line yourself. A plumbing expert will have the skills, tools, and experience necessary to unclog the sewer line and safely mend our sewer pipe.
Water Heater Installation
Installing a water heater is among the riskiest plumbing jobs to attempt doing yourself. If you make a mistake, the scalding water can seriously burn you. In addition, the gas-powered water heaters are specifically dangerous to try DIY installation because they need fuel that might result in a fire or an explosion if mishandled. Therefore, if your water heater setup is not ventilated correctly, you might end up having a lethal and risky carbon monoxide leak at your home. Carbon monoxide doesn’t have a characteristic smell and inhaling it causes brain damage and is fatal in most cases. Therefore, avoid taking risks and instead contact a plumber like Craig’s Plumbing.
Rerouting Pipes
Rerouting the plumbing pipes or generally moving the plumbing fixtures is among the most time-consuming and expensive aspects of bathroom or kitchen remodeling. Changing the position of your shower, toilet, or sink means that you’ll have to reroute your entire plumbing system to supply these fixtures with water again. Some homeowners try saving money by rerouting the plumbing pipes themselves. However, this is highly complicated, and most of those that begin rerouting the pipes themselves end up calling a plumbing service to help them finish the task. Hence, you are also highly unlikely to succeed.
One of the primary risks of rerouting the plumbing pipes yourself is inadvertently messing up the water pressure or failing to correctly seal off your plumbing line. This might lead to severe damage to your home or a catastrophic leak. Consequently, you end up incurring more in paying for the water bills or replacing the damaged property and parts. As you can decode from the foregoing, you’d better leave the pipe rerouting jobs to a plumber unless you are ready to incur the costs above.
Gas Line Rerouting or Gas Leaks
Hopefully, you will never experience a gas leak at your home because this is a particularly unusual problem. However, at Craig’s Plumbing, we hope and believe that you will not be tempted to repair the leak yourself whenever you smell gas. The safest way is to close the gas at the mains and evacuate the house. Then, immediately call an emergency plumber with enough experience dealing with gas leaks to come and resolve the issue. It is hazardous to repair the leaking gas pipes or reroute them because gas inhalation is harmful. At worst, you might cause a fire or an explosion that might have fatal consequences.
Icy Pipes
The other annoying and common problem during winter is frozen pipes. If the water within the pipes turns into ice, it expands anomalously and may result in leaks and cracks. Most people believe that the best resolution is thawing the pipes themselves by warming them using a hair drier or pouring hot water over them. However, this might make your plumbing weak and lead to flooding and burst pipes. Therefore, the best course is or seems to be inviting a plumber to safely thaw out the frozen pipes and institute measures to prevent any future refreezing.
Unpleasant Odors
Do you smell a foul odor emanating from your plumbing fixtures? This might be caused by the bacteria thriving and growing within the pipes because of clogging or sewer back up into your Las Vegas, NV home if the sewer line or pipe is blocked. Regardless, you might feel a need to reach deep within the system to clean the pipes, and you might end up causing further severe damage because you lack the special tools used in drain cleaning or don’t know whatever you are doing. If the stench results from sewer backup, you will be placing your health at risk. However, a plumber has specialized tools and protective gear necessary to safely clean the drains with no damage to your pipes.
Extending the Hot Water Lines
When you purchase a washing machine or a dishwasher that requires a supply of hot water, you may fix it yourself with no problems. However, if you want to extend the hot water pipes to supply the washing machine or a dishwasher, it would serve you best to enlist the services of a plumber. Otherwise, you might inadvertently breach various mandatory plumbing codes or unbalance the water pressure.
Flooding
The occurrence of flooding inside your home is always a cause for alarm. It isn’t unusual for homeowners to go into panic mode and try unblocking the faulty piping themselves. However, you cannot clear those blockages settling deep within the plumbing system without professional tools. Trying to clear them yourself will highly likely damage your plumbing and worsen the flooding, and this will cost a homeowner more down the line. If the flooding results from another thing like a burst pipe or tree roots, you don’t have the necessary skills to deal with it, and even you have, you might lack the modern tools. Regardless, the best option is to call a plumber if your home is flooded.
Experienced Plumbers in Las Vegas, NV
A professional plumber should handle any plumbing repair, small or big. DIY jobs are likely to exacerbate the problem, meaning that you’ll pay more for repairs or even replacements. So, why attempt a repair job that you cannot finish? Plumbing repairs and replacements should be left to professionals. Call us at Craig’s Plumbing for any plumbing repair, replacement, or routine maintenance.
