Easy DIY plumbing projects anyone can do in 1 hour

Many Los Angeles residents would like to practice their handy man skills, but simply don’t have the time. Whether you have a long work week, juggle your kids’ schedules, or both, it’s difficult to carve out a little space to devote to home repair. However, if you let problems persist in your house, even small ones, they can snowball over time and become full-blown disasters, and significantly decrease your home value.

Plus, they’re just kind of fun. Like any other hobby, working on domestic repairs – plumbing issues in particular – can be a fun challenge, and the focus required can even provide a calm distraction from your otherwise busy life. Obviously, serious, long-term plumbing projects will consume hours, days or even weeks (and really serious projects may require the best plumber in Los Angeles). Whether you live in Santa Monica or Hollywood, let’s focus on simple things almost any Angeleno can do in an hour or less.

Make your toilet more efficient

As the government creates more and more legislation mandating efficiency standards for water consumption, homeowners need to make sure their appliances are up to code. Being in compliance with the law is important, sure, but you also stand to save water and reduce your monthly bill if you become proactive and fix your appliances now. Many manufacturers now make high-efficiency toilets, reducing water consumption to just over a gallon per flush. But if you’re pressed for time, you probably don’t want to bother with a full toilet replacement. Instead, you can try a few hacks, or DIY solutions. First, make sure the parts in the tank are all working properly. A simple visual check will do. Then, drop a brick in the tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush.

Replace a shower head

Shower heads are critical. Trying to take a shower under meager dribbles of water, or on the other extreme – fire hose-pressure, can ruin your day. Fortunately, replacing the head is a fairly easy procedure that takes just a few minutes. Using pliers, turn the shower head counter clockwise to loosen it. With the head exposed, wrap the threads of the shower arm with Teflon tape going clockwise. This will provide a high-quality seal. Take the new shower head and screw it on to the arm, turning clockwise until it’s sufficiently tightened.

Install a water purifier

Water filters come in many shapes and sizes. You can install a major under-sink system in your kitchen or just rely on a refillable pitcher to cleanse the H2O from the tap. However, we’re going to focus on the in-between solution: the faucet purifier (this requires purchase of a purifier model from your local hardware store). First, turn off the water so you don’t accidentally get sprayed (the control is usually located under the sink). Then, after removing the aerator from inside the faucet head, line up the faucet’s threads with the purifier unit’s threads, and tighten until you feel slight resistance. Affix any other attachments, and you’re all set for consistent, clean water.