Clean Inside Copper Pipe Fast with a DIY Plumbing Drill Bit
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This post is all about one simple plumbing tip that will make your soldering work quicker, and make you laugh as you complete the work: how to quickly clean the inside of your copper pipe prior to soldering using a drill and a hand wire tube metal brush.
Since you are here you probably already know cleaning the inside of copper is a requirement prior to soldering a connection. You don’t want any debris or oxidation interfering with the joint, causing a leak now or later.
In the past, we’ve done it the old school way: grab the manual 4 in 1 pipe cleaning tool and spend some good quality time spinning it around by hand.
But there is a better way–inexpensive, fast, effective AND BEST OF ALL FAST. There are no downsides!
Did I mention it is fast? 😉
TOOLS to make a DIY Plumbing drill bit (what we bought at Home Depot):
○ 1/2 in. Heavy-Duty Fitting Brush
○ 3/4 in. Heavy-Duty Fitting Brush
○ 1 in. Heavy-Duty Fitting Brush
○ Ryobi Cordless Drill
○ Milwaukee Close Quarters Copper Tubing Cutter (really clean cuts–which makes this part fun–after using an old school adjustable one!) –
○ Milwaukee Grinder
Or good online options:
○ consider ordering the brushes online at Home Depot–no Amazon equivalent for all 3 brush sizes and I don’t want to recommend something I haven’t tried
○ DeWALT Cordless Drill
○ LENOX Tools Tubing Cutters Set for Tight Spaces, 3-Piece
○ Bosch Grinder
Here are the steps to make your cleaning drill bit:
Step #1: Get a manual wire brush. The simple kind with only one size and a handle.
Step #2: Next, pull out the grinder and grind the handle off of each size wire brush needed.
Step #3: Make sure there are no sharp points on your new drill bit to make this tool is NOT more of a hazard than useful.
Step #4: Then, put it on the drill and save yourself a ton of time and save your muscles for some other task–like digging the trench to put the plumbing in the ground.
*WARNING* Do not put the drill into reverse, otherwise the wire brush can “unravel”. Just continue to keep the drill rotating forward as you pull the wire brush out.
Now, I realize there are some out there already attached to a drill bit, and there are even fancier kinds that clean the outside and inside of pipe at the same time. However, some don’t have good reviews and this is the method we’ve proven worked for ourselves.
To prove the effectiveness of all the qualities I’ve mentioned: fast, effective, easy and fast, this week’s video will include a side by side test my husband and I captured. It will show you how this one plumbing tip can ridiculously up your plumbing game.
There is also a 12 second hyperlapse using the ¾” and 1” wire brushes to clean out at least 16 pieces for our new water main riser, which took 2 minutes in real-time.
I hope this DIY pipe cleaning brush drill bit helps you get through your next soldering job faster–and smile while you are using it! We certainly laugh every time we use this method now.
Check it out in action!
