Health Officials Warn DIY Plumbing Could Land You on the Gurney

Shoddy DIY plumbing jobs will cost you more time and money than hiring a pro, and poses a risk to your health and safety.

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again – as tempting as it seems, do not attempt to DIY any plumbing work, no matter how easy shows like The Block make it look. We’ve shown you how shoddy DIY jobs can end up, but the reality is that your personal safety is at risk when undertaking work that should be done by a professional.

According to the Daily Telegraph, hospital staff tend to injured DIY-ers on pretty much “any given weekend”.

The article quoted that “[b]etween January and June last year, NSW Ambulance attended to a significant number of people who suffered serious injury including severed fingers from the use of power tools such as electric saws, angle grinders and drills.”

There were also documented injuries to hands and feet using lawnmowers, mulchers and hedge trimmers, and people falling from ladders.

The Reece DIY Disasters competition really highlighted and reinforced the seriousness of what can go wrong when attempting a DIY – the winner of the competition was local Sydney plumber Michael Downing.

“We cleared out the cupboard under the laundry sink, found that someone had cut a plastic milk bottle in half and taped it to the drain as a replacement for the missing section of pipe,” Downing told the Daily Telegraph.

While humourous in retrospect, DIY plumbing jobs can cause a serious risk to health and safety, which is why it’s important to hire a licensed plumber, even for seemingly small jobs. It may not seem like it at first, but a botched-up DIY job will end up costing you more than a professional job in the long run.

Even if you have a complete disregard for your own health and safety, let it be known that it is illegal to undertake specialist work in New South Wales (including plumbing) without the necessary licences – regardless of the cost of the work, or whether the work is residential, commercial or industrial. Under the Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2012, an unlicensed individual can only replace tapware or a shower head.

Have you had your very own DIY plumbing disaster? Comment below or send in pics.

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