When we think of our dads and their role in the household, we tend to remember the times we’ve seen them with a tool or two in their hands. As chivalrous as their attempts were to fix things in the house, not every time was a success.
Plumbing Dad was most likely the least successful of all the roles he had to take on. In honor of Father’s Day, let’s remember all the times Plumbing Dad shouldn’t have tried the DIY tips and tricks he learned... Sometimes it's just better to call the professionals.
The Correct Way to Install A Toilet
Let’s try to look at things from our father’s perspective. If you needed to install a new toilet, all you would have to do is shut off the water, remove the old toilet, put in the new one, and turn the water back on, right? Not exactly.
There are still health risks to consider. Toilets are nasty and filled with germs. Their only function is to flush away our waste, which means the last thing plumbing dad would think about is how unsanitary the job actually is.
Not to mention how serious it would be if the new toilet weren’t properly installed. Believe it or not, one toilet size does not fit all in this aspect. If a toilet didn’t fit the area, but plumbing dad made it work by force, chances are there would be a backup in the near future.
Avoiding Water Leaks
Surely you remember the times you saw your dad pull out the duct tape to fix a water leak. If you haven’t, well, you’re one of the lucky ones. Duct tape is fairly versatile but it has never won a battle against water.
Even if it needed to be used, it should only have been for minor leaks and as a temporary fix. Surely plumbing dad knew this but it was the best, and cheapest way he knew how to fix leaks. Some of the issues that come from using duct tape are that it can lead to erosion and a rust buildup.
Erosion itself would cause the hole to get bigger which would cause water damage to the area that houses the pipe. If the tape did manage to stop the leak, the part of the pipe that had been damaged would be exposed to the water and would then begin to rust. The water that would be used in your house would be tainted making it undrinkable and ruining your sinks and tubs.
Leave Drain Snaking to the Pros
Among some of the tasks, our dads shouldn’t attempt, drain cleaning the pipes is one that should only be done by professionals. If you ever saw your dad try to unclog the plumbing with one of these machines, you know he should have thought twice about it.
The problems that can happen from using that type of equipment without experience can be quite expensive and also cause physical harm. The wrong size could cause damage to the pipes leading to a rupture or it could scrape the insides of the toilet and pipes making the clog worse.
Even though we know there were times our dads shouldn’t have attempted certain things around the house, we do still need to commend them on their efforts. It takes a lot to try and learn how to fix all the major issues that can arise from owning a home. It takes a lot more though to learn from their mistakes.