IN THIS POST:
– DIY Tips for Common Repairs
– Precautions to Take When Calling a Professional
As the Coronavirus lockdown extends into May and the month of Ramadan, people find themselves facing a number of plumbing or electrical issues, many of which they might have been ignoring for the past two months, but can’t anymore. As such, it is essential to know how to tackle urgent repairs during the lockdown, especially when you can’t call the professionals over for help.
The best solution under these circumstances is to opt for DIY repairs, but what if the damage poses a threat to the safety of your family and can’t be DIYed? Well, we’ve covered some urgent repairs that may crop up and have also shared some DIY tips for them, but if you must call a technician for help, be sure to keep on reading as we’ll share the precautions you must take for such situations.
How to Tackle Urgent Repairs During the Lockdown?
DIY or Do-It-Yourself is a fairly common concept in the western world, but here, in Pakistan, we’re accustomed to calling technicians over for the simplest of problems. With the country under lockdown, here are some of the electrical and plumbing repairs that you might face at home:
- Leaking Pipes
- Clogged Drain/Sink
- Running Flush
- Fused Bulbs
- Squeaking Doors
- Gas Leaks
- Broken Window
- Malfunctioning AC
- Sparking Switches
Let’s discuss some DIY tips for these urgent repairs below.
Leaking Pipes
Out of all the possible plumbing issues, leaking pipes and faucets are the most annoying. Not only do they waste a lot of water, but the constant sound of dripping water will eventually get on your nerves, especially if you’ve been watching the flow increase steadily over the months. There are mainly two cases of leaky pipes. You might have a leak in a drainpipe under the sink or a leaking supply pipe.
Most drainpipes under the kitchen or bathroom sink will leak if the nuts holding the contraption together are loose. Use a clamp to tighten the nuts, and you should be good to go. For a cracked pipe, though, the solution is trickier. Unless you have epoxy resin or a similar adhesive lying around in your toolbox, you’ll be better off just sealing the cracked pipe with scotch tape, electrical tape, or packaging tape. Avoid using paper tape, though, as moisture and paper don’t mix well.
First, turn off the water at the source to avoid the constant drips. Dry the pipe with a cloth and then wrap the tape around the crack. Make sure you wrap the pipe tightly and leave no air bubbles in it. Turn the water flow back on to check the results. Please note that this is only a temporary fix and applies only to pipes that are visible to the eye. You’ll have to call a professional for concealed pipes.
Clogged Drain/Sink
Among the most common and easy DIY plumbing repairs, we have one that is the most disgusting for some—unclogging a drain. Luckily, the solution is generally simple. Use a plunger to unclog any drain in the house. A few pushes should dislodge whatever is blocking the drain. If that doesn’t work, try sending a drain snake down the drain to dislodge or pull up the gunk that’s clogging the drain. You might also consider pouring a commercially available drain cleaner down the drain if you have one at home. There are some more hacks to unclog your kitchen sink that you can try while you are at it.
Running Flush
The simplest solution to avoid wasting water with a running flush is to close the water supply valve and use buckets of water as a manual flushing system instead. But that can lead to severe backaches. So, consider opening up the mechanism of the flush instead, after closing off the water supply. Check if the stopper at the bottom is fitting snugly into place after each flush. Replace with a new stopper if one is available at home.
Otherwise, either stop using the toilet entirely or consider calling a professional for help to tackle urgent repairs during the lockdown. Make sure to tell them to bring replacement parts for the flushing mechanism.
Fused Bulbs
Anyone can change a fused light bulb. Simply screw the old one out of place and put a new one into the holder. Use a ladder to reach light fixtures that are located high up on the wall. Turn on the bulb to ensure that it works after you’ve fitted it in. if you don’t have a replacement at home, we’d recommend waiting this time out before going to buy one. Under the circumstances that you use this particular light fixture the most, consider removing a functional bulb of similar watt and size from another fixture and replacing it here.
One possibility is that the bulb is fine, and the light fixture has short-circuited or that its wiring is damaged. We’d recommend making do with other lights around the house unless it’s absolutely crucial to call someone over to help to fix or replace the light fixture.
Squeaking Doors
Among the repairs you can DIY during the lockdown, we have those annoying squeaky doors and windows. The solution is fairly simple and easy. Put some oil in the hinges and open and close the door or window a couple of times to make sure the oil reaches all the parts. The same trick applies to jammed windows and doors, too. You can also put oil on the sliding panel to make the movement of sliding windows more fluent. With a touch of oil, most fittings should return to optimum functioning overnight. You can check out some other tips for fixing squeaky doors and creaking floors around the house for further assistance.
Gas Leaks
There are several ways to detect and prevent a gas leak at home. The most common and easily detectable sign is the smell of rotten eggs or a visibly broken pipe. Alternatively, you might also face a situation where the stove knob does not turn off or breaks off into your hand from wear and tear over time. In all of these situations, turn off the gas supply at the source, and air out your home by opening up the doors and windows. Avoid striking a match, as gas is incredibly flammable, and once the house is sufficiently ventilated, consider your options.
Unless you have an electric stove, you’ll need gas to cook with at every mealtime. Considering the infectious times, you can’t even ask the neighbours to let you use their stove for a short while. So, your only real alternative is to call up professional help immediately.
Malfunctioning AC
While some people may argue that a malfunctioning air conditioner is not something that needs an immediate fix, there are many homes where people are either accustomed to sleeping in an air-conditioned room or have sick family members who need a temperature-controlled environment.
First things first, check if the AC powers on via the remote control. If the remote control’s screen is blank, you might just have run out of batteries, and we’d recommend keeping a few handy at all times. Remove a few batteries from another remote control if a replacement isn’t immediately available. Try to turn on the AC again. If it works, all’s good.
If you face a scenario where the AC powers on and is working perfectly but is not cooling the room at all, you might need to deliberate on whether calling a technician is worth it, especially considering that we’re nearing May, which is the peak summer season in Pakistan along with June and July.
In most cases, when the AC isn’t cooling the room properly, it requires a refill of the refrigerant gas in its outer unit. There could be several reasons for this. You have not been using the AC frequently enough, you’ve used it too much, or you have a gas leak.
It becomes relatively safer to call someone over for help if the outer unit is located on the outskirts of your home, decreasing the chances of your premise getting infected. Flat dwellers might find this troublesome, though, but you can tackle urgent repairs during the lockdown by calling a technician over, using the precautions we’ve covered below. Check out more tips for air conditioner repair for further assistance.
Broken Window
Broken windows are generally a matter of security. For those living in a flat, it is quite convenient to carefully remove the broken glass, and to cover the frame with a cloth or piece of cardboard, especially if you live on a higher floor. But ground or first-floor windows can provide easy entry to intruders and might need professional help to replace the glass.
If you face no immediate security threats, consider patching up the window with layers of cloth or cardboard until you can call a repairman over to measure the window and install a new glass pane. Please note that a replacement glass pane might not be available immediately due to the closure of several markets and industries amidst the lockdown.
Moreover, there are also many different types of tempered glass used in Pakistan, and if you frequently have to replace the window panes due to stray balls crashing through your windows when the kids play cricket or football, consider installing laminated safety glass for your windows. This type of tempered glass is highly durable, and even if it breaks and shatters, it will not crumble into pieces and lose its place on the window frame. This translates into better safety of your family from stray shards of glass that come flying inwards every time the window breaks.
Sparking Switches
Buzzing and sparking switches indicate a fire hazard down the line. But during the COVID-19 lockdown, you must avoid using that switch and cover it with electrical tape to make it obvious that the switch is out of order. You can get this issue fixed once the lockdown eases over time. However, if there’s smoke coming out of the switch, you might need to call an electrician immediately to replace the switch and check the wiring inside the switch.
These are some of the repairs you can DIY during the lockdown, but if you are not handy with your tools or cannot fix the problem, calling a technician is an alternative you can consider. Don’t do that without taking the following precautions!
Precautions to Take When Calling Technicians for Repairs
If DIY is not an option or you fear for the safety and comfort of your family, here are some precautions to take when calling a technician over for help during the lockdown:
- Call a Trusted Technician
- Disinfect Before Entry
- Maintain a Safe Distance
- Use Precautionary Measures
- Inspect the Repairs
- Disinfect After Departure
We’ve elaborated on each of these precautionary measures below.
Call a Trusted Technician
If you’ve been unable to DIY your repairs and need professional help, remember that these are times where most repairmen are looking for work to feed their families and will lie through their teeth about their symptoms and medical history just to have a paying job at hand. Thus, only call someone you trust.
Don’t have someone that matches the description in your contact list? Ring up a few of your friends, family, or co-workers and get a referral for someone who is working, even in these dire times, and is taking all of the necessary precautions as well.
When you talk to the professional, explain your problem to them and ask them if they’ll be coming alone or whether it is a two-person job. Do not crowd your home with more people than required for the task. Also, ask them whether they own a facemask to wear when they come over.
Disinfect Before Entry
When the worker arrives at your place, wear a facial mask, stand a few feet away from the technician, and make sure that they are wearing a facemask. Provide them with a facemask if they aren’t wearing any while making sure that you do not come in direct contact with their hands.
Then, ask them to take off their shoes outside the door to your home so that they do not bring any germs into the house on the soles of their shoes. Spray them with a homemade disinfectant (recipe shared ahead) at the gate. Target their feet, their clothes, and the tools or bags they bring with them.
Next, keep a bottle of hand sanitiser ready and ask them to sanitise their hands before letting them enter the house. The homemade disinfectant mentioned above can be made by mixing a quarter cup of Dettol or similar disinfectant in a litre of water and shifting the solution into a spray bottle.
Maintain a Safe Distance
Lead your workers to the worksite and then let them make the repairs. If you want to oversee the job, do so from a distance of a few feet. Do not try to close the gap between yourself and the worker.
Moreover, try to minimise the indoor area that the worker comes into contact with. Ideally, keep a straight path in the house that leads to the room where the repair needs to be performed and make sure that they leave the house via the same route so that you have fewer rooms and a lesser area to disinfect overall.
Use Precautionary Measures
Wear a protective face mask and disposable gloves while communicating with the repairman and maintain a steady distance. Do not take off and dispose of the mask and gloves until you’ve sanitised the home again after the technician’s departure. Do not touch your face, eyes, or nose while you are wearing the gloves and wash your hands for 20 seconds after taking the gloves off before touching your face again.
Inspect the Repairs
Considering the times we’re in, you might not be able to call the repairman again anytime soon. Thus, ask the repairman to stand by the main door again before they leave and check the appliances they’ve fixed or the electrical and plumbing fixtures they’ve repaired. Make sure that the job’s been done perfectly before you pay them and bid them farewell.
Disinfect After Departure
Once the workers are gone, disinfect all the areas that they have passed through, using a mop dipped in a disinfectant solution. Make sure you also disinfect all of the surfaces, door handles, and tools touched by the repairman using alcohol wipes or wet tissues. You can disinfect all the surfaces by creating a homemade solution of half a cup of bleach in two litres of water as well.
“Stay Home – Stay Safe” is the motto ringing around the globe as the world fights the pandemic with varying degrees of success. Do your part to “Flatten the Curve” and take these precautions if you must call a professional to your home for repairs.
Moreover, remember that hardware shops are not a part of the list of essential stores allowed to resume operations by many of the provincial governments. Thus, you can only tackle urgent repairs during the lockdown if you have the supplies/replacements at home or if your technician can bring the supplies with them via their regular contacts.
You might also be able to find a hardware shop open in your area, but if you choose to leave the house, do follow the precautionary measures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to stay safe against COVID-19. You also need to have some essential tools at home to perform DIY repairs smoothly.
Stay tuned to Zameen Blog for more helpful posts. You can reach us for questions and suggestions at blog@zameen.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog if you want regular updates delivered directly to your inbox.
