It’s Father’s Day, making it the perfect time to thank your dad for all that he’s done for you. Dads are smart, strong, funny, and handy. They do their best to look after their families, and we all benefit from their efforts.
Sometimes, though, their attempts to take care of the home can be downright hilarious. Plumbing repairs always seem easy until the water is spraying out of the faucet, and your dad can’t figure out how to turn it off.
In honor of Father’s Day, let’s chuckle over some common DIY plumbing failures that our valiant fathers make.
Toilet Installations Gone Wrong
The bathroom is full of dirty jobs, but few pose the potential for problems more than DIY toilet replacement. The first place that your dad can go wrong is forgetting to empty the water out of the toilet before he starts working on it.
If he doesn’t catch his mistake quickly, he’ll end up drenching himself and the bathroom floor. A less hilarious, but more serious mistake that a plumbing dad can make is forgetting to inspect the floor beneath the toilet after he removes the old unit.
Some leaks are hidden from sight until you remove the toilet, but that’s your best opportunity to address issues. If your dad breezes past the inspection and puts the new toilet on top, he could be overlooking major weaknesses in the floor. While it isn’t likely that the toilet will spontaneously fall through the floor to the room below, it is possible that the water damage could become so insidious that future repairs become major rather than routine.
One other mistake that your dad might make is focusing too much on showing off his muscles, and not enough on getting the correct tightness when attaching the toilet to the floor. If it’s too loose, the toilet will wobble when someone sits on it, but if it’s too tight, the porcelain can crack. A professional can find the Goldilocks level that’s just right for toilet installation.
The Incorrect Way to Seal Water Leaks
When your mom hollers to your dad that the sink is leaking, what’s the first thing that he does? If he immediately runs to his toolbox to get his duct tape, you’re in trouble. While duct tape is ideal for some jobs, it’s not the right tool for everything.
In plumbing applications, duct tape will only hide the issue. If the faucet is faulty, your dad will need to replace it rather than put a band-aid on it. If he’s not sure how to start the repair, then it’s the perfect opportunity to call for professional help.
Drain Snaking Can Cause Damage
The process of drain snaking creates pressure, which is part of how it works to clear a clog. However, if your dad isn’t able to control the pressure, the snake could recoil out of the drain back at him.
While, at the moment, it might be funny to watch him fight the snake, he’d probably prefer not to get stitches in his hand.
Your inexperienced plumbing dad might not be able to tell the difference between a curve in the pipe and the clog, so he might mistakenly drill a hole through the pipe. If your plumbing is old or weak, your dad may be on the right track to find the clog but might poke a hole in the old pipe by accident, even if he didn’t mistake a curve for the clog.
A professional plumber will inspect the pipes before he or she begins snaking to make sure that they’re sturdy enough to withstand the process. Rather than risk breaking your pipes, call a professional from the start.
Dad Knows Best
Curiosity and a desire to learn new things are great fatherly traits. Kids make memories and learn the value of hard work when they pass tools to their handy dads. They also learn wisdom from their dads. Show your kids that it’s good to try new things, but that it’s important to learn from your mistakes – if you’re not sure how to fix it, call a professional.
