While you were trying to unclog a bathroom drain, did you just lose the snake down the pipe? Did you take it upon yourself to try to figure out how to conserve water with your toilet flushes and end up snapping the lever? The impulse to try it out yourself is natural, and DIY is very tempting with online resources these days. However, not all resources are that helpful or accurate, and it’s easy to get confused or end up lacking some essential tool to do the job right. Sometimes, doing it yourself backfires.
Let’s briefly explore why DIY isn’t for everybody, and why hiring a pro is usually a better idea when it comes to the plumbing in your home or workplace.
Questions Left Unanswered
Let’s say you have a tiny leak in your kitchen sink. Drip, drip. Drip, drip. Over time, you’re probably losing a lot of water that you’re paying for, even though the problem seems small. Might as well get out a few plyers and wrenches and maybe Google it, right? Chances are you’ll find a few things, but here are some questions they may not answer:
- Situation: Does the situation outlined in what I’m reading explain my situation? Is it my kind of faucet they are fixing? Is the water flow controlled in more than one place?
- Parts: What do I do if I break something? Do I need to replace the whole thing or just a washer?
- After-Thoughts: When I screw the faucet back on, should it be in the open or closed position? Did I forget to do something while I fixed something else?
- Process: Did I do something out of order? Am I going to get water everywhere when I take this pipe off? Are there step-by-step pictures or a reliable video somewhere that I can see? (And, again, does that process describe my situation?)
- Prevention and Maintenance: How do I prevent this issue from happening again?
You can see how quickly the questions mount up, and you end up with more time searching or wondering how something works. In the meantime, that tiny leak in your kitchen faucet can easily become a flooded kitchen floor…and pantry…and living room… you get the idea. Then you end up operating under a best guess or assumption, and we all know what happens when we assume something…
Proper Tooling & the Right Schooling
A professional would have the experience to quickly evaluate the particular situation, the expertise to know what parts and process to use for the best solution, and the details along the way. Plus, you can save even more hassle by there not being a next time, since the professional will be better able to answer how to prevent the issue from happening again.
It’s Never That Simple
Another reason it’s effective and cost-efficient to hire a pro is that your plumbing isn’t ever limited to one area, and one problem can impact the whole system. It’s not just the toilet, shower, bathroom and kitchen sinks; it’s the laundry room, the dishwasher, the appliances attached, the outdoor hoses, and everything in between. Plus there is the sewer, exhaust, gas, and supply pipes, which can make things even trickier. Then there’s walling, insulation, electric, ventilation and other materials that can get in the way of repairing that one pesky pipe.
Excuses, Excuses
Excuses. We all have them, and they all stink. Here are the 3 most common excuses why people trick themselves into DIY when their lives would be easier by just hiring a professional plumber.
“I just need a quick fix, I can handle it.”
There’s just 2 things about patch jobs and quick fixes: 1) they’re usually shoddy, and 2) they only have the short-term in mind. With DIY quick fixes, you may risk damaging the very appliances you’re trying to fix, or worse, whole systems that are connected to the piping. Plus, they can very easily result in wasted water, time, or money.
“There’s no time, I have to fix this now.”
We understand well the panic of the late night shower gone wrong, or flooded (and still flooding) bathroom. The thing is, we’re always ready to help with 24-7 holiday-night-weekend-you-name-it-we’re-there service. So there’s really no reason to panic. Call us and we can be on our way in a jiffy.
“I’m trying to save money.”
First of all, there are plenty of ways in this world to save money. Car insurance, prime example. But risking bigger, more expensive plumbing problems at a minimum chance of a few dollars shouldn’t be one of them. Plus that logic is especially inaccurate when you consider how affordable our plumbing and heating services actually are. With Michael Runk Plumbing & Heating, you get the added bonus that we charge by the job, not the hour, so you can save even more. Throw in the fact we can help you save on the parts you didn’t know you didn’t need to fix, help prevent further issues, and save by installing tax break items, and the question is reversed completely, “Why wouldn’t you try to save money by hiring a pro?”
Hire A Pro. Hire Michael Runk Plumbing & Heating
Get your plumbing repairs done right with quick, quality, affordable service from Michael Runk Plumbing & Heating, a Carroll County-based, full-service residential and commercial plumbing company. Give us a call, 24/7 at 410.833-8340. We’ll be happy to get your plumbing problem fixed in no time.