5 Plumbing Projects You Can DIY (And 4 You Need the Pros For!)
We’ve seen all kinds of projects in our 40+ years of plumbing, from the biggest things, like installing new plumbing in a house, right down to the small things, like unclogging a drain. While we’re always on hand to help out with any size of project, there’s actually a lot you can do to take care of your plumbing on your own.
The most important thing is to understand the difference between plumbing projects you can safely do on your own, and those you need to call the pros in for. Here’s our take.
Common Twin Cities Plumbing Projects You Can Tackle on Your Own
Unclogging minor to moderate clogs
Household clogs are a fact of life, even when you’re careful with what you put down your drains.
The good news is, you can do a lot to take care of clogs on your own, as long as they’re caused by the standard issue –– grease in the pipes, build-up in the toilet, etc. In fact, we’ve written an article walking you through basic unclogging techniques here.
One caveat here though: the key here is “minor to moderate”. If you’ve got a serious clog that doesn’t respond after one or two attempts to unclog it, you definitely need to call the pros in. (Otherwise you risk damaging your pipes, which can cause all kinds of other, expensive, problems.)
Flushing your water heater
Did you know that you need to flush your water heater each year? Doing so prevents a build-up of sediment in the water heater, and helps ensure that your water heater lasts for years to come. (This applies even to water heaters that have a self-cleaning function, by the way. While they do maintain themselves better, it’s still a good idea to manually flush the tank once a year.)
Flushing your water heater is also a pretty straightforward plumbing task. While each water heater is very slightly different, you generally need to turn off the power to the water heater, and then turn on one of your faucets and let it run until the water runs cold. Once that’s done, take a look at the drain valve on the bottom of the water heater tank, and drain out any water you find in there too. After that, put everything back to the way it was when you started, turn your water heater back on, and you should be good to go for another year!
Basic leak repair
You need to address leaks as soon as you see them –– letting them run can jack up your water bill and cause damage to your home in the long run. While the exact way you’ll repair a leak depends on where it is, you can use plumber’s tape to beef up the leak protection on your faucets or shower head connections, and if you’re dealing with a leaky pipe, epoxy putty or pipe putty can be a good stand-in to deal with the immediate leakage.
Once you’ve got that under control and are able to get to a hardware store, you can replace that section of pipe with a slip coupling. It’s pretty easy to do –– you cut the damaged area of pipe and put the slip coupling in its place –– and, best of all, this kind of repair is up to code.
Changing out a shower head
People tend to forget about their shower head unless something’s going wrong with it, but it’s a good idea to replace your shower head periodically, because bacteria can build up on the inside of the head, compromising your water quality.
Some people say you need a new head every six months or so. We think that could be a little over the top, as long as you’re cleaning your shower head regularly ... but do replace your shower heads every year or so. (Or, any time you start seeing a dramatic change in water pressure, which could indicate build-up on the inside of the shower head.)
When it does come time to switch things up, it’s usually a super simple project. With most shower heads, you just unscrew the existing shower head, peel off any plumber’s tape that’s in the grooves of the pipe that leads into the shower head, replace it with new plumber’s tape, and screw the new head back on.
General preventative maintenance
Preventative maintenance goes a long way in keeping your plumbing up to standard and your water costs down, so make sure you make it a part of your yearly routine. Flush your water heater, like we talked about, and keep an eye out for leaks. Check the insulation on your pipes, and clean out your drains periodically.
Also, make sure you clean your water-using appliances regularly. This includes things like your dishwasher and washing machine, as well as your toilets, showers, and kitchen sink. Even though water passes through them regularly, they can still get a build-up of soap scum, minerals from hard water, bacteria, and other contaminants. Over time, this build-up can actually damage your appliances, driving up your water bill and costing you money for repairs.
4 plumbing projects you shouldn’t try to DIY
All that being said, there’s some plumbing projects you should never try to DIY. While it can be a little inconvenient to call in a plumber, it’s much better to let a pro handle it than to try something and end up costing yourself a lot of money in the long run. This includes things like:
Serious clogs that don’t respond to one or two tries
While it can be tempting to pour bottle after bottle of Drano down the sink and hope that nasty clog eventually gives way, don’t. If you’ve tried to deal with a clog and it hasn’t responded after one or two good attempts, back off and leave it to your local Minnetonka plumber. Putting more and more chemicals down the drain can damage your pipes, turning a simple clog into a much bigger (and more expensive) issue fast. Plus, if you’ve gotten this far and the clog’s still here, chemicals aren’t going to move it, so you’ll just be wasting your time and money on more chemicals. You need a plumber’s auger or other specialized equipment to take care of it, which is where we come in.
Installing a new water heater
Water heaters aren’t all that complicated, but it’s still a good idea to have a professional help you install any new water heater you get. Water heaters are subject to a bunch of different building codes, and trying to install yours yourself can void its warranty. What’s more, installing a water heater requires you to know how to work with both plumbing and electricity, and to get everything just right. Get it wrong, and you run the risk of not only damaging your water heater, but causing a fire or flood in your home. (And even worse, that damage won’t be covered by your insurance, since they don’t usually cover damage caused by DIY jobs!)
Running new plumbing lines
Along the same lines, you should always call in the professionals if you’re going to be installing new plumbing in your house. While it might seem like a simple enough job –– after all, you’re just running pipes, right? –– there’s lots of different ways this kind of job can go wrong. A simple project can go very bad very quickly, leaving you with a flooded house, burst pipes, damaged appliances, and more. And, as with water heaters, there’s a lot of different plumbing codes. If you get on the wrong side of any of them, you can find yourself subject to financial penalties, or even get your building permit revoked. It’s just not worth it to try to do it yourself, call in a local Edina plumber instead.
Inspecting your sewer line
We recommend that everybody have their sewer line checked at least once a year as part of spring maintenance. While it’s unlikely that you’d notice issues with your sewer line right away, it can get damaged by heavy rain, or even the runoff from melting snow. (Which, as you know, we get a lot of around here.) We also commonly see damage to older sewer pipes caused by tree roots, or long-standing clogs that nobody’s ever bothered to deal with over the years.
And when sewer pipes go bad, they go very bad ... we’re talking about things like pests, foul odors in your home, mold and mildew building up in your home and appliances, and of course, a giant water bill as your water runs right off into your yard. They’re also usually pricey to fix, with a full line replacement averaging several thousand dollars. So make sure to add that onto your spring-clean checklist, and have your local plumber come out for a sewer line inspection, just to make sure everything’s OK.
Long story short? There’s a lot you can do to take care of basic plumbing yourself, but when it comes to anything that involves a code, mixing water and electricity, or an expensive appliance or installation like a sewer line, call the pros. We’re always here to help!
We’ve been the go-to plumbers in Maple Grove for 40+ years, and we love helping keep our community safe and happy with great, affordable plumbing.
