Just the other week we had a situation in the Handy Household. It was a recurring issue and was bound to get out of control resulting in a big mess sooner or later. Fortunately, the situation happened while Handsome Guy was traveling so I had a few days to try to resolve the problem. Ultimately I ended up doing some research to find a solution and that’s how I discovered The App that Saved My Butt: DIYZ App Review.

DIYZ App Review

I have to admit, when I first heard about this app it didn’t sound like anything revolutionary. You can get a ton of DIY tutorials all over the web and YouTube. But, when I tried the DIYZ app, my mind was changed forever. This is where I should mention that this is a sponsored post for DIYZ. But, I wouldn’t write about any app unless I truly thought it is a good resource for you, my loyal handy readers.

Now that we got that out of the way, here’s how the story unfolded. We have a toilet downstairs that has always been temperamental. It usually acts up when we have company and then it’s embarrassing for all parties concerned. But, this toilet was usually set right with a few healthy plunges. Hopefully you understand that we put up with this cycle (clog-yell-plunge-solved) for nine years.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago as I tried unsuccessfully to clear that problem toilet once again. I plunged and plunged (while silently cursing my boys who were probably guilty of clogging it) until the plunger broke. I went over possible solutions in my head:

• Hire a plumber – No, too expensive.
• Replace the toilet – Maybe as a last resort.
• Search the web for ideas to unclog a toilet – Free, but it’s hard to know which advice is good advice.

I happened to remember the DIYZ app (that I downloaded this summer) and figured, what the heck. I found a tutorial for How to Unclog a Toilet.

Within the app, you can shop for all the tools you need for the job.

I purchased an auger and tried to clear the clog, but still had no luck. DRAT!

I knew it was time to take more drastic measures. I looked through the plumbing tutorials on DIYZ until I found the one I needed:

The tutorial was a quality video that included a list of tools and materials I’d need.

The required safety gear is well illustrated. (Any tutorial that mentions the suggested safety measures gets a gold star from me!)

A list of the steps were spelled out in the beginning.

After watching the video I felt confident to take on the task by myself. (Of course it would be easier with a helper, but no one was around to help me.)

I starting by turning off the water.

Then I followed the step-by-step tutorial from DIYZ. Thanks to this app, we had a working toilet downstairs within a few hours. And it saved my butt because I know Handsome Guy would not have been happy to come home from his trip to this sight:

Let me tell you why I really think the DIYZ app rocks. Have you ever gotten stuck in the middle of a project and need an answer from a pro? Or have you wanted someone to double check your work? This is the feature that sets DIYZ apart from the any other DIY tutorial source:

If you need a pro, you can have a licensed professional on the phone to help you in a minute. This is a revolutionary service. Think about it — you can get instant advice. Just send photos or switch to video chat to show the licensed pro the issues you’re dealing with. No more wondering who you can trust and who you can call. No more rushing back to the home improvement store to try to hunt down someone to answer your question. And no more watching YouTubers who may or may not give you the answers you need.

How much do you think this service costs? Remember licensed contractors can charge up to $150 per hour. For that reason, you’ll be thrilled to hear that this service is free until the end of the year! In 2017, the Get Pro Advice will begin charging $10 for the first 10 minutes and $1 a minute after that. Definitely more cost effective than hiring a pro!

The app is now available for free download in the Apple App Store for iPhone and Google Play for Android.

DIYZ also has more than just plumbing tutorials. Learn how to fix or update just about anything in your home from the DIYZ app.

Go ahead, download the app right now! What are you waiting for? It’s free and you have nothing to lose.

You can watch lots of tutorial videos in your free time. Educate yourself and learn how to complete your own home repairs and improvements. I can’t even begin to tell you how much money you’ll save doing it yourself.

Handy Hints: If you do have to replace your toilet, I have a few tips for you if you are flying solo.

1. Have a large lawn and leaf bag sitting next to the toilet.

Set the toilet inside the bag to catch any drips as you escort your toilet out of the house.

2. If you are installing the toilet yourself, it can be difficult to line up the toilet on the bolts. Cut a drinking straw in half and put a straw on each bolt. This makes it a little easier to line up the holes in the toilet base with the bolts.

3. Add scrap boards on either side of the waste pipe to rest the toilet on top of before seating the toilet and compressing the wax ring. This will allow you to line up the bolts, then remove one board at a time to slowly lower the toilet while double checking that it is still lined up with the bolts.

One last tip. Don’t forget to remove the rag before setting the toilet (ask me how I know.)

Are you curious about what caused our toilet to clog beyond fixing? Well, it was actually my fault. Unbeknownst to me, my camera remote fell out of my pocket and into the toilet. For once I couldn’t blame it on any of the boys or men in my life. It was my fault!

I had no idea, but it had wedged itself in the toilet. Even though I could have re-set the old toilet and called it a day, I decided to replace the toilet with a newer dual flush toilet and save water in addition to saving our guests any more embarrassment.

I’m happy to say the new toilet works perfectly! And that’s how a little app called DIYZ saved my butt! 😉

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for DIYZ. I was approached about working with DIYZ, but didn’t agree until after I found the app extremely helpful while replacing our toilet. I was not told what to write. All opinions are my own. I am particular about the brands I represent and will always let you know when you are reading a sponsored post.