When to Call a Plumber

Ask any plumber what causes most of the problems he or she faces on a typical call, and the answer will probably be the same. Most major problems are either caused or exacerbated by over confident DIYers trying to install new hardware or repair seemingly minor troubles. Short of a clogged toilet, there are few plumbing issues that can be adequately resolved by the average homeowner.

Though toilet installation, toilet repair, and stopping a water heater leaking are also at the top of the list of things homeowners often unsuccessfully try to repair, the most common botched DIY plumbing job is shower faucet repair. We’ve all been there. The incessant dripping from the shower head is a constant source of irritation for you and your family. If you can just tighten it up a little bit, the leak will be fixed and your family will stop nagging you. Though it seems simple, there is often more going on that the average homeowner does not see or understand. Even diagnosing the problem is often over the head of non professionals. Leaks are often not the result of a loose fixture, but are symptoms of larger issues. Beyond diagnosing the issue, navigating the many types of faucets used in different showers can be difficult for non experts. Even if a temporary fix like tightening a couple loose places provides relief from an annoying drip for a few days, it may be masking a much more serious problem. Plumbing contractors have specialized knowledge about various shower faucet systems and potential problems. Shower faucet repair is much simpler to a professional who knows what to look for and how to repair failures in the hardware.

Another popular alternative to DIY plumbing that also causes trouble for plumbers and homeowners alike is to ignore the need for shower faucet repair. For these homeowners, the drip of the faucet isn’t such a big deal. What they do not realize is that one drip per second, considered a moderate drip in the world of plumbing, uses around 5 gallons of water each day that the homeowner still pays for. Over the course of a month, that leak wastes 150 gallons for each month that it goes unfixed. By the time a plumber gets to it, water and money has been wasted and the repair may have become more difficult and costly.

In the long run, even for minor repairs it is often far more cost effective to hire professional plumbing help. The damage that can be done by non experts or by inaction ends up being far more costly than a call to a plumber at the first sign of plumbing trouble. Whether its a leaky faucet or a toilet installation, leave it to the professionals to save time, frustration, and money.