The Essential Plumbing Parts List: Everything You Need in Your Home

In most cases, whenever your home plumbing needs repairing, you should rely on an expert’s help instead of trying to fix the problem yourself. Still, there are issues such as minor leaks or clogs that don’t really require a plumber. Especially if you are quite handy yourself and enjoy fixing things around the house. Since no home is complete without some essential plumbing parts, we thought we would provide you with a list of the basic plumbing equipment everyone needs. That way, when you go shopping for plumbing supply parts, you will know exactly what to get.

Essential Plumbing Parts Every Home Should Have

1. Sink Plumbing Parts

Whenever something happens to your sink, whether it is leaking or you can’t seem to manage to unclog it with any solutions you find at the store, you should have some basic plumbing parts that you can use to fix the problem.

On the other hand, if your sink is not clogged, but is leaking water instead, either from the faucet or from underneath, you might have to replace the cartridge. So it’s good to have one that suits your sink at home. If the problem is that water is leaking from a busted water supply hose, those are not at all difficult to replace. Consequently, they should definitely be on your essential plumbing parts list.

Sometimes, you might confront yourself with low water pressure, which is why we recommend purchasing a faucet aerator as well. This is a device that you can easily attach to the faucet and shape the water stream while also increasing pressure.

2. Toilet Plumbing Parts

In case of a clogged toilet, you should proceed the same way you would with a clogged sink. So you might also need a plunger or a toilet auger.

Now, if your toilet stops flushing properly, what you can do is lift the cover off the tank and take a look at the flapper cap. Luckily, toilet tank flappers are really cheap and not difficult to replace. For instance, you can buy one for only $3.68 on the Home Depot plumbing parts website. However, if you are not familiar with how to replace a toilet tank flapper, we recommend calling a professional plumber in order to avoid any issues.

It might happen that your toilet is running even after you’ve flushed it. Or on the contrary, it starts leaking all of a sudden. That means that the fill valve (the one that refills the toilet tank after you flush) is damaged and needs replacement. Since you can’t possibly know when this is going to happen, it is best to have a fill valve around at all times.

In other cases, the toilet will simply stop flushing because of the tank lever we find attached to the handle, and which turns the handle ineffective. If you want to be prepared for any situation, we recommend adding a tank lever and handle on your essential plumbing parts list.

The gasket is the part that seals the toilet bowl to the tank. This one might also suffer some damage in time, which means that you should also have an extra gasket around. However, remember that there are different types of gaskets out there. Consequently, you have to find the one that fits your specific type of toilet. Moreover, replacing a gasket is more intricate work. So we advise you not to attempt it by yourself unless you are knowledgeable in this field. Otherwise, simply call an expert who can replace it easily.

3. Shower Plumbing Parts

In case your shower is leaking or you notice low water pressure, you might want to have a shower cartridge around. When replaced, it will fix these two issues. You can find shower cartridges at Home Depot for $39.00. When checking the list of essential plumbing parts that you should have for the shower area, you should also look for a water supply hose designed specifically for showers or bathtubs, in case the old one gets busted.

Sometimes, it can happen that the shower or bathtub faucet is leaking. In this case, you will have to replace it with a new one. The process of replacing it is not too complicated. However, it might seem like a challenge for people who have never done it before.

For clogged showers or bathtubs, you can still use chemical openers. If they don’t work, try the auger and plunger you’ve bought for the rest of your home plumbing. Finally, in case a pipe starts leaking anywhere in your house, and the damage is barely visible, we recommend you to always have some plumber’s putty and/or tape around. However, if you notice heavy leaking or the pipe has busted, you should always call a plumber. He or she can easily replace it for you.

Summing Everything Up

As we hope we’ve managed to prove with today’s guide, there are plumbing issues that most people can take care of by themselves. That is, without putting in that much time and effort. In order to make sure that nothing catches you off guard, you should always have a box with essential plumbing parts in your house. Of course, the items we mentioned above can’t fix every plumbing issue that comes up. Still, they are more than enough to take care of the urgent ones.

Finally, we must stress the fact that replacing a shower faucet or a toilet gasket is not something everyone feels comfortable doing by themselves. If you are one of those people, you should always call a professional plumber to take care of the problem for you. This is also true when it comes to more complicated issues such as a pipe bursting.