For some home repairs you can set aside a weekend or two to fix things up. For others, it’s just best you hire someone who’s an expert in that area. That’s usually because it’s safer or due to the fact that it takes training and expertise to handle that kind of work. Usually, this includes most serious electrical and plumbing work for starters. If you’re going to end up hiring an expert to do your repair, it’s worth looking into whether or not your home warranty plan might cover the costs.
Here are a few repairs you can do yourself and some you are probably best not to try at home.
Gutters
The gutters around a home become filled up with leaves and debris over the fall period and generally collect whatever is in the air too. Without covered gutters, it’s only a matter of time before they get blocked and the water starts overflowing.
Climbing up on a secure ladder to check the gutters and scoop out anything you find isn’t hard to do. The riskiest part is avoiding a trip to the hospital because of falling off a ladder. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners every year do just that. We suggest getting someone to hold the ladder for you!
Pro Tip: Gutter cleanup is possible to do, but gutter replacement is where the line is drawn. Get help for a replacement task.
Blocked Toilets and Water Pipe Issues
Blocked toilets can be resolved yourself in most cases. Buying a plunger that you can position and push down to send a surge of water and air from the toilet to the pipes below often helps dislodge whatever’s blocking the flow of water. Sometimes, it’s useful to buy a product that’s placed in the toilet and flushed down inside the pipes which helps to dissolve any waste.
Pro Tip: When you cannot fix a toilet issue quickly, then it’s time to call a reliable Tulsa plumber who has the right set of tools and the experience to know what to do next.
Blocked Drains
Blocked drains occur in different places. It can be a wash basin that’s clogged up with hair after shaving in front of the mirror. It can also occur for a variety of other reasons too.
There are some good products like Drano Kitchen Granules from SC Johnson which can unclog a kitchen sink. This is applied by clearing the sink, pouring the granules in at the top and then adding some hot (but not boiling) water. Then wait 15 minutes and run some water to let the mixture run through the sink successfully. Easy!
Pro Tip: Blocked drains you can usually handle on your own. However, if the problem persists, get a plumber in.
Electrical and Gas
Anything to do with either the electrical system or gas systems in the home must be considered carefully before proceeding. If in doubt, get in a specialist instead of trying to tackle things yourself.
For instance, it’s possible that you can swap out a filter in an AC unit or perform minimal maintenance when it comes to equipment that uses electricity or gas, but err on the side of caution here.
Pro Tip: The experts who work on these systems are qualified, have the appropriate training and tools, and are the people you should rely on. Make use of them.
Pick and choose between the tasks you can try out and the ones that definitely should be handed over. Then work through your list of repairs one by one until they’re all resolved.