10 Plumbing Tools You Should Always Have at Home

It doesn’t matter how well-built your plumbing system is—plumbing emergencies can happen at any time. When they do happen, they can be dramatic and leave little time to ponder the situation. All it takes is someone flushing the wrong thing down the loo or forgetting to drain the pipes before winter, and you’re left with a serious issue that requires help from plumbers Dunedin homeowners trust.

Fortunately, most plumbing issues tend to be minor. Indeed, every other home probably has at least a couple of annoying plumbing predicaments that could be resolved with the right set of tools. While you should probably leave complicated projects like gas fitting or industrial and commercial drainlaying to certified professionals like us here at Mains Plumbers, things like sluggish taps and leaky toilets are often doable, depending on the cause.

With plumbing tools, you can immediately respond to plumbing emergencies, mitigating the damage to your property and buying yourself some time before professional emergency plumbing services arrive. You’re also empowered to properly maintain your property’s plumbing, which means that these major emergencies will happen far less often.

Thankfully, you only need a few plumbing tools to cover the vast majority of your property’s needs. Let’s look at the plumbing tools that no property should be without:

1. Pipe Spanner

Perhaps the most important tool in your kit is that you will need at least one pipe spanner to turn rounded pipes and fittings. This tool will give you the grip and leverage to loosen or tighten often wet and slippery fixtures.

2. Conventional Adjustable Spanner or Vice Grip

Though you can probably use a pipe spanner in most plumbing situations, a regular adjustable spanner or vice grip is nice to have for some scenarios, such as when normal nuts and bolts of different sizes are involved. Go with any reasonably well-built spanner ranging from 15 to 30 centimetres in length so that you have sufficient leverage for frozen nuts and bolts.

3. Plungers 

A plunger can often resolve clogs without the need for chemicals or having to call a plumber. Avoiding chemicals is especially important, as some properties have pipes that are damaged by harsh cleaning agents.

All properties must have at least two plungers—a smaller cupped one for clearing blockages in sinks and drains, as well as a flanged one for toilets. You don’t need especially fancy ones but you may have to learn the recommended technique for using them effectively.

4. Plumber’s Snake 

A plumber’s snake can reach deep into pipes to dislodge and remove blockages that a plunger can’t handle. As with plungers, using a snake will avoid the need for corrosive chemicals that could damage your plumbing system.

5. Plumber’s Tape

Sometimes called thread seal tape or Teflon tape, a plumber’s tape is used to ensure a tight seal between pipe threads, preventing leaks at threaded joints. It’s an inexpensive but crucial tool for ensuring leak-free connections. It’s also handy for various uses around the home, particularly for tightening loose screws or bolt threads.

6. Sink Spanner

While a pipe spanner is sometimes enough to do the job, a sink spanner (sometimes called a basin wrench) will make maintaining sinks much easier. This tool is designed specifically for working in tight spaces under sinks, occasionally being the only type of spanner that can be used on faucet nuts in deeply recessed sink setups. Having one in your kit avoids having to disassemble your sink or call in a professional plumber for otherwise straightforward sink problems.

7. Plumbing Tape Measure

If you want to replace pipes, ensuring accurate measurements is critical. A plumbing tape measure helps you measure pipes, fittings, and spaces accurately, ensuring a proper fit and giving the repair a clean look.

8. Pipe Cutter

A pipe cutter provides a clean cut on copper, PVC, or PEX pipes, simplifying fitting new pipes and allowing for precise work when replacing plumbing sections. Unlike a hacksaw, a pipe cutter provides an even cut that can be easily joined with other fittings.

9. Hacksaw

While it does take some skill to cut precisely with a hacksaw, this tool is ideal for cutting through lead and steel pipes as well as rusted nuts and bolts. In a pinch, you can also use a hacksaw to make temporary wooden support frames and other useful aids for repair projects.

10. Buckets

Often overlooked, buckets are indispensable for catching water from leaks, draining pipes, or holding tools while you work. Indeed, you will want to have more than one bucket in your kit to cover any contingency.

Save Time, Money, and Hassle with these Must-Have Plumbing Tools 

Having these essential tools at home keeps you prepared for inevitable plumbing emergencies, mitigating the potential property damage from plumbing issues. More importantly, having these on hand makes it possible to perform basic maintenance and repairs yourself, saving you time and money. A lot of these tools, like hacksaws, vice grips, and buckets, for instance, also have plenty of uses in areas other than plumbing and are worth having around as a part of a more general tool kit.

All in all, investing in these tools is a smart move for anyone who wants to maintain the value and functionality of their property. If you do have a serious plumbing problem that you can’t solve yourself, call an emergency plumber in Dunedin like Mains Plumbers. Apart from plumbing services, we also offer reliable and high-quality drainlaying and gasfitting for homes and light commercial properties.