Top 5 Terrible DIY Disasters – No Sydney Sider Should Try These!

There’s a place and time for DIY. If you’re handy and hardy, feel free to replace sink taps and shower heads, hook up sinks and washing machines. That’s fine. However, just because you’ve accomplished those tasks without flooding the house or electrocuting yourself does not a plumber make. Without professional tools or know-how you could be at risk of voiding your home insurance plan or, worse, putting yourself in hospital. So if you’re considering the following or attempting something similar, take a second to think and maybe consider looking up your local plumber.

Here are some of the worst plumbing disasters we’ve seen – don’t try these at home!

Source: http://www.theplumbinginfo.com/15-awful-diy-plumbing-disasters/

A New Hot Water System

If your bathroom sink only has one tap, then it’s more likely going to be for cold water rather than for hot. For the cooler months though, this is not really an option. One DIY-er had an apparent stroke of genius and created an extremely dangerous ‘heater’ using a kettle with a homemade spout. You’d turn on the kettle, funnel the cold water into it using the carefully-placed and have about five seconds of deliciously warm water before it started to boil and your skin melted off.

Source: http://www.theplumbinginfo.com/15-awful-diy-plumbing-disasters/

Silent but Deadly Smells of Sewage

To the untrained eye, the above picture does not look like as much of a disaster as the picture shown previously. However, it’s just as bad, if not worse. Consider the word “trap” – does it mean anything to you? Probably not. But, to the plumber, it’s the difference between a regular-smelling room and one that smells like crap – in a very literal sense. Traps – whether they’re P-shaped, U-shaped or S-shaped – are designed to retain water in the pipe even when the tap isn’t in use – preventing noxious gases from filling your home. In this above image, there is no seal between the drain and sewer line, giving room for bad gases to escape and run rampant in your home.

Source: http://www.theplumbinginfo.com/15-awful-diy-plumbing-disasters/

Banding Together

Rubber bands are good for many, many things – let’s not forget that. Roll up a poster, secure it with a rubber band. Bunch together some carrots, use a rubber band. Can’t afford an engagement ring, use a rubber band. Fix a broken tap, maybe call in a plumber instead.

Source: http://www.growplumbing.com/2013/07/29/plumbing-mishaps-plumbing-blunders-diy-plumbing-when-you-simply-cant-do-it-yourself-or-shouldnt/

Something Fishy…

It should go without saying that in a modern plumbing system, fishtanks aren’t necessary. However, this DIY dud must have missed the memo, or have decided to get a little bit creative with design and functionality. Whatever this mess is meant to be, I hope no fish were harmed…

Source: http://www.growplumbing.com/2013/07/29/plumbing-mishaps-plumbing-blunders-diy-plumbing-when-you-simply-cant-do-it-yourself-or-shouldnt/

Were You Using That?

I feel like with that pipe in the way, no one’s going to be able to use that toilet for a while – even the blokes would have some difficulty. This is another case where it just seems so much easier to call in a plumber than reap the consequences, but considering the state of the bathroom in the first place, perhaps the owner has other priorities in mind…