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  • Writer's pictureAbu Hurara

6 Common Plumbing Mistakes That Homeowners Make

Updated: Aug 20, 2021



Most people like to do their own plumbing work in Russellville, Ar. That may be because they want to save money or they like tinkering around their house. But there is something wrong in doing one’s own plumbing as these people make common mistakes while doing their plumbing. These common mistakes can be the result of expensive losses. You should know the pitfalls of doing your own plumbing work and you can avoid these pitfalls. This will help you to take care of your own home. Proper plumbing helps your house to be long lasting. There are many common plumbing mistakes that most homeowners make.


They Use Chemical Drain Cleaner


For most homeowners, liquid drain cleaner looks like if it is a miracle product. If you put few cups of chemicals down to your drain, then this can open the pipes and release the wastewater into the sewer. The other side of using this drain cleaner is that chemical drain cleaners can have a long-lasting effect on galvanized plumbing. Those people, who use this product on daily basis, cause the pipes to become leaky and corroded. There are many different techniques by which you can easily clear clogs without sending caustic chemicals into your home plumbing. There are alternative products that can be used.


These products are:

  • Plumbing Auger

This device is manually powered. This device is the same as a drain snake and it also cleans most of the drain clogs. The main benefit of using this device is that it does not release caustic chemicals.

  • Natural Products

If you want to clear a slow drain, you can spread baking soda and then vinegar in it. After this, leave this mixture for many hours in your sow draining place. After few hours, you can flush it with the help of hot water.


In case if none of this technique works, then call a plumber. This suggestion is because a good plumber can easily clear the clogs without using any hard chemical product. The hard chemical product can destruct your home’s plumbing.


Sometimes They Forget To Turn Off the Water


This mistake is very common in people as they are very careless. These people don’t know about the long-lasting effects of making this mistake. So you must have to do this for every water-related project. If you do not turn off the water before starting a plumbing repair or improvement then it can result in the gushing of pipes, terrible mess, and a small household flood. Before starting your next project of plumbing, you should know about the home’s plumbing. At the local shutoff valve, you should turn off the water. If you cannot find the local shutoff valve, then you should turn this off from the water main. This should always be done to avoid any expensive loss. If you do not do this, you can be in great difficulty.


Some People Send the Things down the Toilet, They Should Not send


Actually this is common sense for the people that they should not send things in the toilet such as odd items, toys and some feminine product. But this mistake is most common that many people do. The problem doing this is that these items can go down and get stuck at some point. These products can eat the walls of the system of plumbing. These products can easily damage PVC pipes and metal pipes as well.


Performing Unpermitted Work


Those homeowners who make prominent changes to the plumbing of their home, this can result in the devaluation of their home. Those homes which have unpermitted work, these houses are not for selling purpose. These homes are not easy to sell. These houses will be for less money. To pull permits, some states need contractors. To find out a contractor by yourself is not an easy job. This can result in working with someone you do not trust. In this case, you will end up in not trusting someone or rely on. On the phone, they may have a great demeanor. They can offer you an excellent deal and then they will cut corners on the job site. Then you will be left in the dark about their whole procedure.


Some of the states allow their homeowners to pull the permits by themselves. The homeowners should make sure about the permits which are pulled. These permits are pulled whenever they do major work like installation of repiping or a bathroom. Permits allow officials of the local buildings to have oversight in the home improvement projects. This helps make sure that every home improvement project to perform in the community to code.


Getting a permit can cost too much money. But it can also protect you from fines down the road. It also ensures that the work of plumbing is done properly.


Some People Connect Galvanized and Copper Pipes


When people do not pay attention to the plumbing process, then copper and galvanized pipes are allowed to touch one another. Then it results in corrosion at the place of plumbing. Most of the homeowners, who do their own plumbing, do not know about this problem. If these people do not take care of this, this can result in the repair of galvanized piping which is with modern copper pipes. This process is done if a special piece is used which is called a dielectric union. This special piece i.e. the dielectric union is a special joint that uses a plastic sleeve and rubber washer. This will help in preventing the copper and galvanized piping to touch one another.


Some People DIY Without Proper Training


Some of the homeowners take plumbing challenges but they did not get the license or insurance before this. So they cannot give what professionals can provide. Professional owners know all things about the working of plumbing. These people go through all the vocational training so that they can learn about the best equipment and proper drainage. These people also complete an apprenticeship and take the experience of years before taking a licensing exam.



All this expertise and experience make sure about the safety of your home and the quality of the project. As homeowners don’t know about the DIY work, this will cost more money in the future. This is because if you need to pay a contractor in the future. Sometimes, it is very difficult to tell about the project which is beyond your level of skill. If you want to find out best way of doing plumbing you can consult with professional plumbers before starting a project.

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