PVC pipe can be used for a lot of things, from holding tools to creating frames or irrigation systems. They also represent the perfect material that can make life around the house a little bit easier as well. Let’s take a look at a few ingenious ideas that may be useful, and maybe they will inspire you to think of a few more.
Shower Caddy Helper
If you have a 3-4 inch long section of PVC pipe and two zip ties, you can attach it to the side of your shower caddy for additional storage space. You can also attach a cap to the bottom of the pipe and get more out of this trick. Try it and see how easy it is to hold things like a razor or toothbrush instead of laying them on their side on one of the shelves where they continually fall through the cracks.
Gutter Cleaner
You can easily make a special attachment that can be used to clean gutters with two pieces of pipe, an elbow joint and a fitting to connect it to the hose nozzle. The most important thing to consider is the length of the pipe that leads from the hose. Make sure to make it long enough to reach your gutters, but not too long that it becomes difficult to control.
Attach the fitting to the end of the pipe and make sure to use a nozzle that is threaded on the outer end as well. Attach the elbow joint to the far end of the pipe before inserting and sealing a 4-6 inch long section of pipe that bends at a 90 degree angle to the main piece. You can also insert a rubber end cap and poke a few holes in it in order to increase water pressure through the system. Feel free to improvise, but this trick makes it easy to clean gutters without the need to get a ladder.
Ice Tubes
Take some PVC pipe that is around two inches in diameter, attach an end cap and seal it. Allow it to dry and fill the pipe ¾ the way up with water before attaching, but not sealing, the other cap. Put it in the freezer. Remove when needed and place in coolers or thermal bags as a way to keep things cold without having to worry about water forming from melted ice. Just make sure to cut the pipe to the appropriate length to fit in the container that you will be using.
Firewood Carrier
Take two pieces of PVC pipe that is around ¾ inches in diameter and a foot long. Drill two holes through each pipe, each about an inch from their ends. Make sure there are holes on both sides of the pipe so that you end up with four in total. Take two pieces of paracord that are each 3 feet long and feed each one through the corresponding holes on each pipe. Tie them off and you should end up with two handles along with two lengths of rope holding them together.
Place the wood atop the cordage and pull up on the pipe. Take one pipe and slide it underneath and behind the cordage and opposite pipe and one of the pipes should lock down against the wood while the other can be used as a handle. Simply pick up the bunch of wood by the handle and carry as needed.
Reptile or Rodent Catcher
You can use PVC pipe and paracord to make an improvised device to catch reptiles or rodents in a couple of steps. First, take a two to three foot long section of pipe and drill one hole about ¾ of an inch from one of the ends. Feed the cordage through the hole from the inside of the pipe and tie it off against the hole. Make a loop of cordage that’s at least three inches in diameter by feeding and holding the cordage between your thumb and forefinger. Feed the remaining cordage through the pipe and pull it out the other end while continuing to hold the loop in place. All you need to do is place the loop over the neck of the creature that you want to catch, hold the pipe with one hand and pull the cord with the other. The loop will tighten around the neck of the creature as you pull the string, holding it in place and giving you the chance to safely remove it to another location.
Saw Protector
Take a length of ¾ inch PVC pipe that matches the length of your saw blade and cut a line through the pipe from top to bottom. Slide the blade through the slit that you just made, and you now have a way to protect the blade while also protecting others from the saw when it is not in use.
These examples demonstrate that PVC has many uses besides for delivering water. What other ideas can you come up with? Once you start brainstorming, it won’t take long to appreciate the importance of having some excess pipe laying around the house.
