History Main / DoItYourselfPlumbingProject

* A running gag in ''LooneyTunes'' and its various SpiritualSuccessor series (such as ''TinyToonAdventures'') is the constant losing battle one fights against that nagging, dripping faucet.

* PerfectStrangers had a memorable episode, entitled "Pipe Dreams", where Jennifer asks Larry to let the plumber in while she and Mary Ann are away on a flight, so he can replace the showerhead. Larry agrees but then immediately calls to cancel the plumber -against Balki's advice- saying he will it do it himself, in order to impress Jennifer. After what Balki describes as "twenty-three hours of backbreaking labour" Balki and Larry turn on the new showerhead to test it: the showerhead flies off as a jet stream of water shoots out, the taps at the sink fly off the basin with their own water jets, the toilet erupts like OldFaithful and opening the cabinet results in a flood from the pipes. This episode was regarded by the cast, crew and fans as one of the funniest of the entire series.

* Subverted on ''That70sShow'' when Red and Eric try to fix the kitchen sink. Although they fail to fix the sink, they don't do any major damage and decide to just call a plumber to fix it.
* ''Eric's World'' had a clever subversion when Eric and C.J. had to deal with a leaky faucet. Rather than try to fix it themselves, C.J. suggests they call a plumber. When Eric protests that it's the middle of the night and they won't be able to get a plumber this late, C.J. uses his trusty "Plumber's Signal" (essentially a [[{{Batman}} Bat Signal]] with the image of a pipe wrench, rather than a bat) to call a plumber, who arrives less than ten seconds later.

* WeirdAlYankovic's Milli Vanilli parody "The Plumbing Song":

* TheThreeStooges, in "A Plumbing We Will Go," are plumbers who end up destroying the house, getting water in the electrical system, digging up the lawn, etc.

* {{Brazil}} has the maliciously incompetent Dowser and Spoor and the competent freelance maverick Harry Tuttle.

* [[CalvinAndHobbes Calvin]] tried to fix the bathroom faucet on [[strike: one]] more than one occasion. It ended up flooding the house.

A leaky faucet is not only [[DrippingDisturbance one of those annoying sounds that keeps you up at night]], it also wastes water. However, since most people don't consider that a big enough emergency to call a plumber (or, if they live in an apartment, the landlord/superintendent drags their feet), they will try to fix it themselves. Of course, HilarityEnsues.

* Your precocious children learning new and interesting swear words.

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Film]]
* TheThreeStooges, in "A Plumbing We Will Go," are plumbers who end up basically destroying the house, getting water in the electrical system, digging up the lawn, etc.

[[AC:Live Action TV]]

* PerfectStrangers had a memorable episode, entitled "Pipe Dreams", where Jennifer asks Larry to let the plumber in while she and Mary Ann are away on a flight, so he can replace the showerhead. Larry agrees but then immediately calls to cancel the plumber -against Balki's advice- saying he will it do it himself, in order to impress Jennifer. When he and Balki -after what Balki describes as "twenty-three hours of backbreaking labour" attempt to turn on the new showerhead to test it: the showerhead flies off as a jet stream of water shoots out, the taps at the sink fly off the basin with their own water jets, the toilet erupts like OldFaithful and opening the cabinet results in a flood from the pipes. This episode was regarded by the cast, crew and fans as one of the funniest of the entire series.

* In the aptly-named ''[[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]]'' episode "Flooded," Buffy tightens a pipe with a wrench to stop a leak ... (pause for a moment) ... and then pretty much all the other pipes burst, effectively flooding the basement.

[[AC:Music]]

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

** In another ''Popeye'' cartoon, "Floor Flusher", Popeye and Bluto compete to fix Olive's
plumbing but end up flooding her house.

** In another ''Popeye'' cartoon, "Floor Flusher", Popeye and Bluto compete to fix Olive's plumbing but end up flooding her house.

* A ''{{Popeye}}'' cartoon has Popeye helping Olive fix her leaky plumbing when the plumber (Wimpy) takes too long to arrive. It goes as expected until Popeye eats his spinach and starts [[GoodOldFisticuffs punching]] the gushing pipes so hard that they seal themselves, then lifts the house off its foundation and tips it over to pur the water out a window. Shortly afterward, Wimpy finally arrives and all the pipes burst open again.

* The entire premise of the ''RockosModernLife'' episode "Pipe Dreams", in which Rocko and Heffer try everything they can think of to unclog a toilet. [[spoiler:It turns out there's a [[BeyondTheImpossible giant goldfish living in the septic tank.]]]]

A leaky faucet is not only one of those annoying sounds that keeps you up at night, it also wastes water. However, since most people don't consider that a big enough emergency to call a plumber (or, if they live in an apartment, the landlord/superintendent drags their feet), they will try to fix it themselves. Of course, HilarityEnsues.

-->-- Sign seen on a plumbing truck

* A running gag in ''LooneyTunes'' and its various SpiritualSuccessor series (such as TinyToonAdventures) is the constant losing battle one fights against that nagging, dripping faucet.

* A ''{{Popeye}}'' cartoon has Popeye helping Olive fix her leaky plumbing when the plumber (Wimpy) takes too long to arrive. It goes as expected until Popeye eats his spinach and starts [[GoodOldFisticuffs punching]] the gushing pipes to hard that they seal themselves, then lifts the house off of its foundation and tips it over to pur the water out a window. Shortly afterward, Wimpy finally arrive and all the pipes burst open again.

* The entire premise of the ''RockosModernLife'' episode "Pipe Dreams," in which Rocko and Heffer try everything they can think of to unclog a toilet. [[spoiler: It turns out there's a [[BeyondTheImpossible giant goldfish living in the septic tank.]]]]
** Also in "Dear John," where Rocko tries to fix the kitchen, and ends up making a bathroom instead because that's all the author of the manual knew how to do.
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<<|ComedyTropes|>>
<<|TruthInTelevision|>>

* [[{{Garfield}} Jon]] has also occasionally tried to fix a leaking faucet, with the expected results.

* A running gag in ''LooneyTunes'' and its SpiritualSuccessor series (such as TinyToonAdventures) is the constant losing battle one fights against that nagging, dripping faucet.

[[quoteright:325:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_three_stooges_a_plumbing_we_will_go_1_1047.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325:some caption text]]

'''Unsorted Example:'''

* TheThreeStooges have a sketch where they're plumbers. They end up basically destroying the house, getting water in the electrical system, digging up the lawn...
** Getting the electrical system mixed in with the plumbing, so the lightbulbs fill with water and so forth is a staple of gag comedies.

* Parodied in ''TheSimpsons'' episode "Dumbbell Indemnity", where Homer tries to fix the water heater... by [[TeamFortress2 beating it with a wrench]] until it explodes.

* On the HGTV series ''Holmes on Homes'', these types of jobs are amongst the biggest pains in the neck for the most. The biggest problem is that half the time, they were installed by ''[[CrookedContractor paid contractors]]''.

* ''Eric's World'' had a clever subversion when Eric and C.J. had to deal with a leaky faucet. Rather than try to fix it themselves, C.J. suggests they call a plumber. When Eric protests that it's the middle of the night and they won't be able to get a plumber this late, C.J. uses his trusty "Plumber's Signal" (essentially a [[Batman Bat Signal]] with the image of a pipe wrench, rather than a bat) to call a plumber, who arrives less than ten seconds later.

* On the HGTV series ''Holmes on Homes'', these types of jobs are amongst the biggest pains in the neck for the most. The biggest problem is that half the time, they were installed by ''paid contractors''.