Basic Plumber Tools To Keep Around

You never know what kind of emergency might pop up unexpectedly around the house. That's why everyone has some basic tools in the home to be prepared. For the same reason, it is important to keep around some basic plumber tools for any of those minor repairs you may need to do. You don't have to be an expert on plumbing, but you need to know basic repairs to at least hold off until the expert shows up.

Items To Keep In Your Plumber Tools Kit

The most commonly used of the plumber tools are the water-pump pliers. Sometimes these are also called plumber's pliers or even channel-lock pliers. The serrated teeth on the pliers help you hold on tight to the pipe. The are necessary because any other tool would make it near impossible to hold on well to the pipe.

Another of the plumber tools that needs to be available is the adjustable open-end wrench. This tool can sometimes be all you need when there is a leak, because the problem could just be a loose nut-bolt. So the job of the adjustable open-end wrench is to tighten any loose nut-bolts. Since the nut-bolts can be various sizes, you will need a few different sizes of the adjustable open-end wrench to accommodate them.

Tightening the pipe can be done using a pipe wrench. Keeping this with your plumber tools is nice because the pipe wrench can place a lot of pressure on the pipe without changing the pipe's shape. Without this tool, you could end up damaging the pipe and creating an even bigger problem. Since one of the main reasons for owning plumber tools is to save money by doing it yourself, making a bigger mess would defeat the purpose and cause you to pay a lot for someone to come in and make repairs.

If you have ever tried to loosen or tighten nuts and bolts under a sink, you know how difficult it can be. That's why you will need to add a basin wrench to your plumber tools. The basin wrench makes it easier to loosen and tighten nuts and bolts because of its convenient shape.

If you are looking to do more than minor repairs, you will want to consider having a pipe cutter, reaper, and emery cloth in the mix of your plumber tools. A pipe cutter can make precise cuts in the pipe, while a reamer can get rid of the residue in the pipe. Then you can use the emery cloth to clean the pipe. Just make sure that if you plan to do these repairs, you follow directions to the letter and follow all safety rules.

Other helpful things to add to the plumber tools kit are washers, threads, pipe cleaning tools, joint compound, Teflon tape, nuts and bolts, etc. After you have combined all the plumber tools mentioned in this article, you will have spend about $100-200. This isn't bad for a home owner, especially considering the money you can save by doing your own repairs.