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It is never easy to open your home to a plumber or other repairman. Generally when invited into your home, the plumber saves the day by fixing leaking pipes and clearing clogged drains, but many homeowners have no idea what magic they are working under the sink to solve the issue. As a consumer it can be difficult to converse with a plumber to provide relevant information or to ask questions to understand how to avoid large problems in the future. Creating a dialogue with your plumber will not only help him to diagnose and treat your home’s plumbing problem quickly, but it may also offer insight for what signs to look for in the future to avoid trouble.
When you call your plumber with an issue in your home, it may help you to have some idea of what he will ask you. The questions that a plumber poses will help him to determine the issue with your plumbing system and will also help him to assess the best method to fix the problem. Some good information to be armed with when you call your plumber includes when the problem started, any descriptive information you can give about the fixture that is broken and what actions you’ve taken so far to correct the issue. Arming your plumber with this information can help him to fix your home’s plumbing problem more efficiently.
Every homeowner wants to save money when calling a plumber into their homes, and often times this leads them to making decisions that may end up costing them in the long run. Occasionally, when faced with the choice between replacing a broken fixture, or repairing the one currently in place, many homeowners will opt for the cheapest solution. Though this method may save you a few dollars in the short term, the piece of equipment you are trying to save may eventually malfunction again resulting in another costly phone call. When making the decision between replacement and repair for old faucets, toilets or pipes, it is important to take a few moments and ask your plumber if the unit is really worth saving before he starts adjusting it. Though the better option may not have the best current price tag, it will save you money in the long run.
When a plumber comes into your home, it may be a good idea to treat his visit as a mini education. Before he leaves you should have a good idea as to what caused the issue and what you can do to avoid similar problems in the future. Take a few moments to ask your plumber for any advice he may be able to offer. Knowing how to avoid a problem is the first step in solving it.
Creating a dialogue with your plumber will help you to understand the issues that you’re having with your plumbing and may offer you insight into how to avoid these issues in the future. In order to get the most out of the time the plumber spends in your home, make sure you ask questions and understand the steps he is taking to solve your plumbing problems.
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When a plumber comes into your home, it may be a good idea to treat his visit as a mini education. Before he leaves you should have a good idea as to what caused the issue and what you can do to avoid similar problems in the future.
You make a really good point about using your time with the plumber as an educational experience. In fact, that is a great way to get personalized advice that will help you keep your plumbing in excellent working condition. Plus, they could help you know what to do in an emergency. That could definitely help lower the damage that is caused in those situations.
I agree that it’s smart to learn from a plumber’s visit, no matter what the problem is. If you just hire the plumber and then leave him to his work without any inquiries, you will miss the opportunity to learn what the issue is in your house and how it can be avoided, later on. Even if they are just coming for an estimate or inspection, learn all that you can to help you out. We are going to need a plumber to help with a few of the sinks in our new home, so I’ll definitely do what I can to learn from them coming and fixing the issues.
I’m glad you mentioned the importance of communicating clearly with the plumber. Like you said, arming your plumber with as much information as possible will help him fix the plumbing more efficiently. I’ve heard that some plumbing companies will always have at least one plumber on hand 24/7 to send out in case of emergencies. That could be useful if something goes wrong in the middle of the night! I’ll have to keep this info in mind the next time I choose a plumbing service!
Thanks for sharing Jason. It is also best to get referrals from family and friends when hiring a plumber. I’m sure that they will give you someone trust-worthy and reliable.
Since I don’t have a whole lot of knowledge about plumbing, I found this article to be very useful. I really like how the article suggests using a plumber’s visit as a mini education of sorts. I think shadowing a plumber that you’ve contracted to come take care of a problem would better educate you on how to prevent future similar problems for returning. It would also give you an opportunity to inspect the work your plumber does for your pipes.
I really like your tip about making sure that you are prepared to discuss different options and asking your plumber for advice. My husband and I have been wanting to redo our master bath for a while now so we will have to keep these tips in mind. Hopefully, we can find a contractor that works hard and can help us through the process.
I agree that it is wise to be aware of your options when you are deciding whether to replace or repair if you have a problem with your plumbing. It seems like a good idea to ask your plumber about your options and about the amount of money each option will require along with how permanent of a fix each option is. In order to make an informed decision you should probably make sure that you are actually informed, the best way to do this is to ask lots of questions!
Thank you for all this helpful information about choosing a plumber! One thing that really stood out to me is that you say to ask you plumber if it’s worth saving the money or if you should just replace the system. Since we have been having issues with on of the sinks in our bathrooms, it would be nice to know if it will have issues later on if we replaced it, or if we should just get a new one.
Hello Jason
Thank you for all the relevant info, its a great help. Buy asking those few questions it will give me the confidence that i know what the plumber was doing as at times its not clear what they have done or if there was really any problem with the Heating. Anyways thank you again for your insight.
Thanks for the tip to be prepared to discuss options to try and save as much money as possible. I imagine that most plumber would be willing to consider second options, or even try and think of alternates on their own, if that is what their client really wanted. Being willing to let the plumber know you are hoping for a less expensive option would probably be a good way to make sure those options are considered.
I never thought about discussing different options with my plumber! I just assumed that they would tell me what they were going to do and I just agree with it. But that makes sense to talk it through with them. I’m going to keep this in mind when we redo our kitchen!
I like the idea to discuss options when hiring a plumber. My faucets have started to leak and our entire home has low water pressure. I definitely think that we should find a plumber that could properly repair them before the damage gets to be a little extensive.
That’s a good tip to consider options. Plumbers’ will have multiple solutions. I have an older home so it might be time for a more expensive fix though.
I really like the part about treating your plumbers visit as an educational experience. You are paying a plumbing company or plumber for their expertise, why not actually pay attention to what they are saying – I’d go so far as to say have some questions for them already planned before they come so that you can come away with more knowledge. Great article.
Thank you for mentioning how you should take the time to ask a plumber for any advice on caring for your plumbing system properly. I understand that taking the time to do some research can help you find the best professional that can help you care for the type of pipes in your house. It is important to remember that taking the time to read online reviews and ratings can help you get a plumber you can trust and who has reasonable rates.
We’ve been having a problem in our home where the pipes are very loud when anything goes through them which is a bit irritating. I liked that you had mentioned that it can be important to discuss possible options that could save money in some ways. We’ll have to look into getting a professional out here that can work on our plumbing and fix everything with it.
We’ve just found out that the pipes in our powder room have been rusting all along. When we wiped off the pipes, some flaky rusts fell leaving some holes on it. My husband is trying some fixes on it but it’s still leaking. I told him that we need to ask for a professional plumber to do the task already before the holes become bigger.
I’m thinking of hiring a plumber to help me figure out why my pipes are having troubles. You make a good point how I need to take into consideration the plumber’s experience before deciding who to hire to help me out. How many years of experience would you consider necessary for a plumber to have before deciding to hire them?
I never would’ve thought to take the time to listen to what my plumber is saying and try to learn something during the experience. I am a new homeowner, so I have never had to fix anything around the house before, I always had a parent or landlord to fix everything. If something ever breaks down around my house, I will be sure to pay close attention to whatever my plumber is doing to fix it.
Thanks for the tips for hiring a plumber. I like how you said that we need to be prepared for talking about options, like what type of repairs to be made. We’re hoping to hire someone to help us fix our basement bathroom, so this is great.
My wife noticed a leak coming out of our faucet, and we wanted to make sure we chose the right person to fix it. I love that you say to have an idea of the questions he will ask. That way, you will be able to answer all his questions thoroughly.
Thanks for pointing out how a creating a dialogue with your plumber will help him diagnose and treat the problem quicker. I can only imagine the stress of seeing your basement flooded because of a leaky pipe so I can definitely understand how panicked homeowners can be when explaining their problem to their plumber. During times like this, I would think keeping a leveled head and proper composure can really help you out during emergency plumbing disasters.
I’m glad you pointed out that your plumber will probably want to know when the problem started, descriptive information about the fixture, and if you’ve done anything to try and fix the issue. I’ve been having problems with clogged drains in my home, so I’ve been considering calling a plumber to take care of the issue. I wasn’t sure how to prepare for the visit, so thanks for sharing!
A good question before hiring the plumber should be what will be the total cost of plumbing will be including the plumbing and material cost as different plumbers charges you on the hourly basis which will cost you more as compared to the plumbers that charges according to the work.
You’ve got some great advice for hiring a good plumber here. I like how you said that we should know what they will ask and prepare for that by knowing when the problem started and all of that. Our sewer system has been having some issues, so I’ll have to talk to my wife in advance to figure out how long ago it started.
Thank you for pointing out that I should be ready to answer some questions about the issue. My husband and I are needing to find a plumber to come and fix our leaking pipe. I’ll have to look into finding the best plumber in our area.
I love what you said about creating a dialogue with your plumber and how it will help them diagnose the party. Hiring a plumber that has a good reputation is the best route to take because he has proven to leave clients satisfied. If I noticed any issues with the plumbing system in my home, I would make sure to call the best plumber in the business.
Great points! I couldn’t agree more with your suggestion to have a dialogue with the plumber asking the cause of the problem and what are the possible steps to take to avoid similar problems in the future. This is also what I do in general to every repairman I hire to do a fix job in the house, I ask what is causing the problem and hot to avoid it.
These are great questions! Thanks for putting up this list together! May I suggest that during a visit treat it as a mini-education as well. Make sure you talk to your plumber on what needs be done and check the little things on how they do it. Always ask as well if its OK to do DIY on something as well.
You make an extremely sensible point regarding using your time with the plumber as educational expertise.
Thanks for having this article, it helps a lot. It’s a well-written blog and it is very informative. Keep on blogging, looking forward to see more of your posts!
Thanks for pointing out that we must ask options to save a few bucks if there is an issue that needs to be repaired or replaced. I will follow your advice, especially that we plan to use the water well in our property again. It hasn’t been used since my grandfather died, and we wanted to make it work again now that we have rising water bills. This will help us understand if it will be cheaper to have the equipment fixed or totally replaced.
Thanks for the information. sounds so great and helpful. Kudos!