10 DIY Plumbing Mistakes NOT To Make! | GOT2LEARN

what's up guys and welcome back to another video in this video i'll show you 10 plumbing mistakes that beginners make and how they could be avoided number one trying to glue a fitting on a painted pipe i see this all the time where someone's in a hurry and doesn't take the time to remove the paint off the end of a pipe when gluing a fitting the glue or solvent is made to weld both plastics together if there's a thin layer of paint in between the connection won't be good and it'll eventually leak you could get a utility knife and scrape it off but that could get time consuming and slow down your productivity instead get some paint thinner or varsal on a rag and just wipe it off it's much quicker and a lot easier too number two using water to cool a solder joint down i mentioned this in my how to solder video right here and why it's wrong to do so accelerating the cooling process could cause the solder to crack just like an ice cube in hot water which is something you don't want to do for this not to happen you must let the joint cool on its own which normally takes around 30 seconds an easy way to know if it's cool enough is to watch the solder change from shiny to a matte color this means it's completely solidified and ready to be wiped clean number three is leaving a hose connected outside during winter leaving your hose connected on the outdoor faucet is a disaster waiting to happen let me explain whether you have a simple pipe or frost proof faucet like this one they both need to be drained out before winter by leaving your hose connected as such all the water is trapped and if it freezes the pipe inside will burst and start to leak when it starts getting hotter so always disconnect your garden hoses to make sure all the water is drained out number four not unsoldering a leaky joint to fix it a big mistake that do-it-yourselfers or even some plumbers make is not completely unsoldering a leaky joint to fix it some people will flux the joint solder it and call it a day but doing this will eventually leak seeing the solder didn't penetrate into the joint the proper way of doing it is to heat it up disassemble the joint clean everything properly and re-solder it this way you know the joint is properly prepped and the solder will be able to fill up the whole joint without any doubts number five is not installing a p-trap any fixture with a drain must have a p-trap installed as it keeps sewage odors from coming into the house a toilet for example has one built into it so there's no need to install one however sinks showers bathtubs floor drains and washing machine outlets need one to be installed so always make sure there is one if you have unpleasant odors in a specific room it's most probably because there's one missing number six using a sink plunger for a toilet a sink and toilet plunger are both very different a sink plunger is meant to unblock flat surface fixtures because of its flat design if it's used for a toilet the pressure used to push the clog is lost due to the fact that it doesn't have a flap like a toilet plunger does a cool trick that not too many people know is that a toilet plunger could also be converted into a sink plunger by folding the flap inwards so there's no need to get both models number seven laying a pipe over another it's often seen in homes that a copper pipe is in contact with another one like this instead of using some fittings to pass over it the proper way this could become problematic because pipes move when they're closed or opened and having a pipe in contact with another would eventually cause friction and eat right through it the proper way to fix this would be to use some fittings to pass over or under it if ever you do spot this in your own home an easy way to prevent further damage is to get a piece of insulation and tuck it in between both pipes this way they aren't in direct contact number eight using your toilet as a trash can a toilet is meant to flush human waste not garbage here are some things your toilet drain pipes and septic tank aren't meant to see cooking grease hygiene products such as tampons or similar things dental floss q-tips diapers pills as they contaminate the water paper towels which can easily block a toilet or drain cat litter and cigarettes and the list goes on but these are some of the most popular ones that should be avoided number nine not using the correct glue or solvent for a specific pipe all glues and solvents are made differently for different types of pipes if you were to use abs glue for a pvc pipe it would glue them together but it would eventually fail due to an incorrect weld so whenever choosing a solvent or glue choose the correct one for your application by reading the label carefully if you're transitioning from two dissimilar pipes you'll need the correct transition glue or the same thing will happen and number 10 not installing a backflow preventer in the basement your basement is what's most prone to getting flooded if the city sewage system decides to back up every drain coming out of a slab is supposed to have a backflow preventer on it which should be underground and should have access to the flapper if the sewers were to back up you'd have no protection and it would flood your basement with waste the top clip is with the backwater valve and the bottom one is without and as you could see the waste was blocked thanks to the check valve if you don't have one you can easily get one at your local hardware store and install it yourself just make sure you have access to it at all times in case that the flapper comes off and that's it if you guys enjoyed and learned something from this video please give it a big thumbs up and subscribe to the channel for more upcoming videos and until the next one thanks for watching [Music]

Channel: Got2Learn

Views: 2,483,645

Keywords: got2learn, plumbing trick, do it yourself, pex plumbing installation, plumbing hacks, plumbing, plumbing tools, plumbing repair, plumbing diy, plumbing how to, how to do plumbing, how to repair plumbing, how to fix plumbing, toilet, rough in plumbing, solder with mini torch, how to solder, how to solder copper, how to fix copper leak, how to fix copper pipe, soldering copper pipe, sweat copper pipe, plumbing tips, plumbing hack, plumbing fail, copper pipe, life hacks

Id: UQcpHPml0lc

Length: 6min 58sec (418 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 10 2019