You’ve all met plumbers over the course of your home-owning lives. We hope that when you did that you experienced intelligent, professional problem solving. When that happened, here’s a little of what was going on behind the scenes. Here’s 11 things you may not know about some of your most necessary problem solvers.
- Now is a great time to be a plumber or to become one.
There is a shortage of skilled plumbers right now, and a great many are getting older, nearing retirement age. It’s a stable career with a lot of job security. Keep reading, and you will see some of the other things we like about the job.
- We don’t talk down to our customers.
We know there is a lot of specialized vocabulary in our job, just like like there is jargon among professors or bookkeepers or in any other job. We try to keep the jargon to a minimum when talking with customers. Good plumbers try to explain things before any work begins. If something gets lost in translation, that’s on us. We never do that on purpose, and it is alright to say so if we didn’t explain things in a way that made everything clear.
- We know that almost nothing called “flushable” actually is.
We won’t go into the list of things that advertising people think might be flushable. It’s a long list, and they are wrong. Those products clog up toilet drains all the time. Sometimes, they will make it past where a drain snake can reach and then create a clog, followed by a backup, followed by a call to us. There is only one flushable paper product. It’s on a roll on a holder on the wall. Keep all the rest out of the bowl and out of the drains.
- It took a little time to learn our profession, too.
A plumbing apprenticeship in Florida takes almost as much time to complete as a bachelor’s degree. A master plumber in Florida, on average, has seven to ten years of experience on the job. Training includes not only technique but also ever-evolving building codes and other best practices. Good plumbers don’t trust shortcuts, whether on the job or to get the job.
- We try to save you money.
Plumbers know the best, most economical repair is the one that lasts the longest, complies with building codes and uses the right materials. A quick patch doesn’t follow any of those guidelines and only costs more money down the road. The longer you go without seeing your plumber, the better the job he did. That’s savings.
- Plumbing is physically demanding, sometimes even dangerous.
A burst pipe can shoot out water at up to 100 p.s.i. Plumbers also deal with waste in both kitchens and bathrooms. Plumbers are exposed to a variety of pathogens. It’s also a career that requires a lot of movement and work in a variety of bending, stooping positions. When a plumber turns up with what looks like excess personal protective equipment or other safety gear, it means he is taking good care of himself. There are good reasons to be a little cautious.
- We’re proud of what we do.
We solve problems while protecting people’s health, property and comfort. That’s a lot to be proud of. And we are. It’s an honest day’s work, and it is useful to everyone. It also goes back a long way. “Plumber” and “plumbing” both come from the Latin word for lead, plumbum. Drains and pipes in ancient Rome were made from lead.
- The first day of the week is often our busiest.
Monday is a busy day. Conventional wisdom says things go wrong over the weekend, and Monday is the first chance to get those things fixed. Anecdotal evidence suggests something else may also be going on. Many plumbers suspect Monday is a busy day for us because DIY-ers took the weekend to attempt tackling plumbing problems before their significant others called us on Monday morning.
- We’re intellectually curious and like to learn.
People who enjoy what they do for a living will often say they like how much they get to keep learning. That’s true for plumbers, too. Building codes change. new products and materials come on the market. There is a lot to learn to be a good plumber. We’re expanding our knowledge base all the time and always discovering something new. We couldn’t do it without an appreciation for learning.
- Our work days are all different from one another.
Every job a plumber goes to is different from every other job. The tasks are always different, from water heaters to slab leaks to leaky pipes and that stubborn clog that ends up on every plumber’s schedule. The environment in which we complete them is always different. Even with that leaky pipe, the location and the materials are never the same twice in a row.
- We appreciate hospitality, but we don’t expect it.
Please don’t get the wrong idea. We are grateful, even thrilled, when we pull up to a job and someone is happy to see us. Please don’t feel like you have to offer us tea or coffee. The thought is plenty, and very generous. We’re happy to get on with the job, finish it as skillfully as possible and leave you to enjoy the rest of your day with the knowledge the plumbing works better than before.
The next time your favorite plumbing problem-solver shows up to solve your least favorite plumbing problem, this is a little bit of what he or she is bringing to the job — intellectual ability, pride, training, experience, practical ability and a real desire to be as helpful, economical and transparent as possible. If that is the plumber you want on your side, then please call Ross Plumbing any time you need to.
