Plumbing advice · Costs & Choosing a Plumber
The Plumbing Tools Worth Owning at Home
Seven tools that handle most small plumbing jobs, and the ones to leave to the trade.
The essential seven
A quality flange plunger, an adjustable spanner, water-pump pliers, PTFE tape, a small drain snake, a torch, and a stopcock key if yours lives outside. Under £60 all in, and they cover the majority of small domestic dramas.
Worth adding
A wet-and-dry vacuum earns its keep the first time water goes where it should not. A pipe-and-cable detector saves you from the classic picture-hook-through-pipe insurance claim.
Leave on the shelf
Blowtorches, caustic chemicals and anything sold as a drain bomb. The first burns houses, the second creates hazards for whoever finishes the job, and all three appear regularly in the origin stories of our biggest invoices.
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