3 Hidden Dangers of Do-It-Yourself Plumbing
Plumbing is an easy and safe task right? That’s what many people think right before they have a horrific plumbing accident. There is a very good reason that plumbers exist and must be properly trained and licensed to do their work.
If plumbing was something that every average person could safely do then they wouldn’t exist, simple as that. Since the dangers of plumbing aren’t very well known let’s take a moment to go over some of the most dangerous scenarios that could happen should you try to handle a complex plumbing task yourself.
Lead Poisoning
Did you know that lead pipes in homes wasn’t banned until 1986? Older homes could have deadly lead pipes hidden in them that can cause sever lead poisoning.
While having these pipes affecting the water supply in your home as they age is an obviously problem, they can also be affected by careless plumbing work, causing chips and scrapes in the material that can affect the one messing with them or cause them to start contaminating the water supply if they weren’t doing so already.
To play it safe, have a plumber check your home for lead pipes if you suspect it may have some.
Burns and Eye Damage
Did you know that serous plumbing work oftentimes requires a blowtorch? Some pipes, such as copper pipes, have to be handled with a blow torch in some cases. As you can probably guess using a blowtorch if you aren’t properly trained or qualified can lead to serious injury. In addition to burning yourself the flame can damage your eyes if you don’t have proper eye protection. On top of that, molten metal can fall and burn straight through your foot if you’re not careful. Don’t put yourself at risk, just let the pros do their job.
Blowing Up Your Home
Did you know that screwing around with your hot water heater can lead to a massive explosion that results in your house being burned down in the process? The thing about hot water heaters is that gas based hot water heaters are susceptible to these kinds of problems if they are malfunctioning.
As for electrical hot water heaters, they have been known to cause house fires when unqualified individuals try and fix them due to the electrical work involved.
The good news is that trained plumbers understand exactly how to fix gas and electrical hot water heaters while avoiding a potentially explosive situation.
Don’t get mixed up in a serious plumbing issue in your Berkeley home. Call Albert Nahman Plumbing at (510) 876-9725 , and have the professionals clean up that mess.
