Emergency Plumbing Kit

What Should You Have in Your Emergency Plumbing Kit?

What will you do in the event of a home plumbing emergency? In most cases, of course, you’ll call a professional plumber—but while you wait for the plumber to arrive, you’ll want to stop water from leaking and clean up some of the mess that has been made. In some instances, you may even be able to make some repairs on your own.

In order for any of this to happen, though, you’ll need a home plumbing kit. It is smart to always have a well-stocked plumbing kit on hand so that you can deal with situations that arise—but what items do you need to have in your plumbing kit? We’re happy to make a few recommendations.

The Contents of Your Home Plumbing Kit

In your kit, include each of the following:

1. A large bucket. Many household plumbing emergencies are going to involve leakage, and you’ll need a way to catch the water until repairs can be made, or until you can shut off the water supply. A five-gallon bucket is vital, and if anything you’ll want to go even larger.
2. Rags and towels. Some old rags and towels will also help you to absorb leaked water and clean up any messes made—before floors and furniture are ruined!
3. Duct tape. Duct tape has many uses, of course, but one of the main ones is to temporarily patch up minor plumbing leaks. Note that this is not an acceptable way to address plumbing problems in the long term, but it can certainly be effective as you wait for a Vancouver plumbing professional to arrive.
4. A couple of plungers. These will help you deal with many clogs and stopped-up drains, so make sure you’ve invested in them.
5. An adjustable-size wrench. Many problems with pipes and leaky faucets will be fixable just by tightening some joints, so it’s smart to either have several different sizes of wrenches, or just to invest in one adjustable-size one.
6. A multi-bit screwdriver. Again, there will be many plumbing fixtures that will require screwdrivers, so either have several different sizes or just one good multi-bit one.
7. Allen keys and pliers. These are vital tools to have in your emergency toolkit, too, as many fixtures will require them.
8. A good pair of rubber gloves. Because you never know what kind of a mess you’ll find yourself in.

One more thing to have handy: The name and number of a reliable Vancouver plumbing company. We stand ready to meet all your home plumbing needs—emergency or otherwise—so please contact us as needed!