Knowing My Limits When It Comes to Home Plumbing and Electrical Repairs

We have lived in our current home for nearly 8 years now. One thing about the house that always bothered me was the state of the plumbing. The drains in the upstairs bathroom run nearly parallel to the floor about 8 feet before they drop down and clogs are very common.

Fortunately for me I am able to access that drain from behind the tub via a panel and snake the drain when the need occurs. But that is the extent of my ability to "fix" plumbing problems, I would never dare try anything more ambitious. I think I am willing to attempt any repair around the house other than big plumbing and electrical jobs.

I have always wanted to remodel that bathroom and possible upgrade the plumbing while I am at it. Although I feel comfortable doing most of the work myself, I think calling a local plumber would be the best option for me. The worst situation would be for me to have the bathroom to the point of no return and realize the plumbing portion of the job was beyond my ability.

Although I understand how the plumbing of a toilet works, the cost of making a mistake or error while replacing that toilet is too great not to have a professional plumber do the work. There are things the Internet and a book can't teach you about certain skills. You really need somebody who has done it many times before.

Another plumbing issue I have that is even more pending than a bathroom remodel . . . my kitchen sink’s garbage disposal is not working. It's funny how much you take something like that for granted. Now that it's not working I get nervous if so much as a grain of rice goes down the drain, whereas before I wouldn't even think about the biggest pieces of food falling in!

A food disposal is serious business and not something a layman should try to trouble shoot or repair. The potential for serious injury to you, your family, and to your property is too high. Although I have no problem looking into the disposal with a flashlight and tongs to clear it, anything more involved than that requires you to call your local plumber. Even if you are handy and want to give it a try, I would still get some professional help. An improperly installed disposal unit is like Russian roulette. Spinning blades, water, and electricity are the recipe for a disaster if you ask me!

As handy of a guy as I am, I will always use professional help for all of my plumbing and electrical needs.

Be More Confident About DIY Home Appliance Repairs

In the 7 years I have owned my clothes washer and dryer, they have both needed repairs. The first set of repairs were covered by service plans that I purchased from the retailer. Although the value of the repairs paid for the cost of the service plan, both instances were far from fun.

Both the washer and dryer required parts that needed to be ordered, so both repairs needed 2 visits to complete, with about 7 days in between. I am a fairly handy guy and the thought of waiting 7 additional days after the first visit was hard for me to swallow. If I did the work myself I would have cut the wait by 50% or better!

About 1.5 years ago the dryer was on the fritz again and started to emit a burning smell. Instead of calling the repair man I decided to open it up and see what I could do myself. You know what I found inside? It turns out the inside of a dryer is simple and not very hard to figure out at all. As a matter of fact, I was able to deduce the issue in less than an hour, and that’s with zero prior repair experience. I learned right then that not only could anybody do this, but I personally may never pay for a repair like this again.

That particular repair did not require any new parts, but even if it had, the experience would have been far superior to calling a serviceman and waiting a week or longer. With resources like Wiki for information and parts suppliers like ApplianceHelp, I cannot imagine that I will call for a repair again without first attempting to do it myself. And you know what? On top of saving time and money, it feels great to do it yourself and builds your home owner street cred!