PVC pipes are a plumbing staple because of its water, corrosion and chemical resistance. But there are a few other helpful things you can do with PVC pipes around the home that are not plumbing related. Our team of Sydney plumbers aren’t just handy at using pipes in your plumbing, they have discovered some clever tricks along the way on how to use PVC pipes for other purposes. If you’ve recently renovated your house or have had a plumber come in to re-lay your pipes you might have a few pieces of PVC pipe lying around. Not sure what to do with the leftover PVC? Check out these six household uses.
1. Use plumbing pipes as a cord tidy
Computer desks and entertainment units often have a number of wires running around behind the scenes. Sometimes they get tangled, sometimes there are just so many of them they look messy. Run them through a length of PVC pipe to keep them neat. Because PVC pipes come in many sizes, you can get pipes big enough to fit plug heads through. You can also mount them on the wall to keep them off the ground or, if you have a long piece, or a few pieces, run an extension cord around the room safely if the power point isn’t close enough to where you need it.
2. Store wires neatly
You can also use PVC pipes to store cords when not it use. Neatly wind up the cord and then insert the looped part in the pipe with the plug head of the cord sticking out one end and the tail out of the other. This means you can easily store them without worrying about different cords entangling.
3. Make stands and props
PVC pipes are reasonably durable so if you have a few pieces you can assemble them into all manner of helpful items, from a laptop stand to a music stand. Some people even use pipe to prop up shelves, especially when they start to sag in the middle due to the weight of books. The best part is you don’t need instructions to make these things, just a few lengths of pipe and some connectors and a notional understanding of what you want it to do.
4. Stack a rack
Because PVC pipes also come in a range of different sizes you can also be a bit creative about the sorts of items you can organise. For a wine rack or shoe rack you’ll simply need to stack a few 100mm pipes together, or if you have a variety of different sized pipes you can cluster them and make anything from a stationery holder to a makeup tool stand. The connectors can also be put to use. One favourite is this hairdryer holder:
5. Extend your vacuum’s reach
Extend the reach of your vacuum cleaner by taping a length of pipe at the end of your hose to reach those high corners.
6. Use the pipe as a tube
Hardly groundbreaking, but hear us out. Because of their variable length, you can use PVC pipes to store posters of any size. You can also use them as a guide when you stack cylindrical objects like drinking glasses, which usually get unstable after three or four in height.
Pretty handy for a cylinder of PVC!
For more PVC pipe tricks, head to PinterestMore ideas
For more ideas on clever (and even unusual) uses for PVC pipe like this outdoor handing garden, head to Pinterest for our PVC Pipe Tricks board.