Plumbing is an essential part of living that exists in every space, whether it’s a house, office, factory, or any other place where water and drainage are needed. Therefore, it’s important to have the right kind of plumbing tools and materials at your disposal to help you out if you need to fix your plumbing issues or need to perform any other plumbing work. Following are some of the necessary tools and materials you need for plumbing work.
1. Toilet Plunger
A toilet plunger is shaped specially to be used in order to clear clogs in toilets. It operates the same way as a regular plunger, but it includes a flange, i.e. rubber flap below the plunger head, which helps seal the plunger around the hole at the bottom of a toilet which helps to effectively produce hydraulic pressure that can open toilet clogs.
2. Toilet/Closet Auger
Also known as a water closet auger, it is used to clear clogs in the toilets. A sink auger isn’t appropriate to be used for toilets, hence a toilet auger is a tool designed for specifically this purpose. It has a long metal rod with a bend that helps reach inside the hole in the bottom of the toilet bowl and clear it up with ease.
3. Sink Auger
Another type of auger is the sink auger, also called a drum or canister auger. It’s the best tool available when it comes to cleaning up and clearing sink clogs and tube drains. Remember not to use it in your toilet, as mentioned above.
4. Plumber’s Tape
A plumber’s tape is a very essential tool used to prevent leaks at threaded plumbing connections. This tape, made with PTFE, is a thin silky white material that is wrapped around pipe threads and fittings before the parts are fit together. It adds lubrication to aid the threading and also helps seal joints to prevent further leaks from happening.
5. Adjustable Pipe Wrench
An adjustable pipe wrench is a metal plumbing tool you need to have in your toolbox as it is designed to grip round objects i.e. pipes, etc. securely by digging its sharp serrated teeth into the pipe with increasing pressure as the wrench is turned. It provides a high amount of leverage and grip to the user, making it beneficial to have.
6. Channel-Type Pliers
Channel-Type Pliers can be used to grip heavy steel pipes or even to tighten large plastic nuts on sink drains. If you want to specialize in operating only one plumbing tool, it should be this one, as it can come in handy during a lot of plumbing problems.
7. Faucet Packing, Washers, and O-Rings
Faucet packing, rubber washers, and O-rings are helpful tools that come in handy when you want to fix leaking valves on sinks, radiators, and other equipment. Faucet packing is graphite or wax-coated that can easily be wrapped around valve stems and packed under packing nuts to create a watertight seal. Rubber washers and O-rings contain several shapes and sizes that help you fix broken faucets, etc.
8. Tubing Cutter
A tubing cutter is a tool that comes in a lot handy if you’re working with copper pipes. Copper is a material that requires clean, square cuts, and tubing cutters provide just that with a lot less effort. It has a thin cutting wheel that can cut the metal and a flat pressure wheel that applies pressure when you turn the tool’s knob.
These were all the tools you need to have in your storage if you ever need to fix anything regarding plumbing. There may come times when you’ll need to contact an expert to help you out with all of this, but as long as you know the basics, you can easily get rid of every issue that hinders your facility. For more information, contact the experts at Swift Facility Management.
