Photo 1: Tighten the packing nut Tighten the packing nut on the toilet shutoff valve one-eighth turn clockwise to try to seal a leak around the nut. Wrap cloth or masking tape on the plier’s jaws to protect the nut’s finish. Use light, steady pressure so you don’t damage the water lines. Photo 2: Disassemble [...]
Faulty dip tubes in water heaters made between 1993 and 1997 may cause hot water problems and clogging at faucets. This article tells you how to assess your water heater and solve these problems. Check for defective dip tubes If you have hot water problems (loss of water temperature and/or loss of water pressure at [...]
You can fix leaky copper pipe quickly and efficiently with special repair sleeves. We show you how to cut and solder copper supply lines. . Photo 1: Cut out the damaged pipe Shut off the main water supply valve, drain the damaged water line and use a pipe cutter to cut out a section of [...]
Repair a shower faucet that won’t shut off. Most single-handle, cartridge-style faucets can be repaired in an hour or less with basic tools. Photo 1: Remove the handle cap Turn off the water supply to the shower. Then pry off the handle cap with a small pocketknife to expose the internal handle screw. Identifying a [...]
Standard toilets can use as much as seven gallons of water per flush. Low-flows? A mere 1.6 gallons. If you crave the water savings of a low-flow toilet, but aren’t ready to shell out for a new commode, you’re in luck. With a few simple modifications, you can turn your water-guzzling toilet into a water-sipping [...]
One of the most common and most frustrating toilet tank problems is the slow leaking of tank water through the flush valve, into the toilet. As the water leaks, the tank water level falls and the toilet ballcock fills it back up again. It’s a wasteful and annoying problem. Well one of the neatest products [...]
The toilet tank is where all the major plumbing takes place in a toilet. The purpose of the tank is to contain the water needed to flush the toilet and to conceal the plumbing apparatus that fills and empties the tank. Open any two toilet tanks and you’ll often find very different components inside. Why? [...]
Image via Wikipedia Introduction One of the most common household problems we all face from time to time is the clogged toilet. Fortunately most clogs can be fixed by using the correct type of plunger, but most people use the wrong type. We’ll discuss the right tool to use and proper method to plunge your [...]
What is Water Hammer?:It happens when you do nothing more than quickly shut off a faucet. BANG! Water hammer. It sounds like a shock wave just went though your pipes! Well, in fact one just did. Water hammer can damage your pluming system. The shock wave that created the water hammer is traveling at thousands [...]
Introduction At some point it will happen (usually at 1AM on Sunday). Your water heater will go “kaput”. This is a “technical” plumbing term that means the water heater stops working for good. Water heaters are supposed to have periodic maintenance but all too often they are just left to churn away without maintenance and [...]
What do you do if a leaky ball type single lever faucet needs repair and you don’t have a repair kit yet? Well follow these quick tips and you’ll probably be able to stop or at least reduce the leak until you can get to the hardware store. Ball Type Faucet Repair Kit Why They [...]
Image via Wikipedia Introduction: Even if you’re not ready to replace your water heater with a new energy efficient model, you can still do things to save water, energy and cost. Water heaters come in all types and sizes. There are natural gas, propane, oil, electric, tankless and solar models. They all vary in terms [...]
Sink Auger (also drum auger or canister auger) Of all the special tools you can have for plumbing repair in the home, the sink auger is one of the most valuable. This easy to to use tool is great for breaking up and clearing clogs in sinks and tubs. Don’t use this tool on toilets [...]
You turn the hot water faucet on and wait. And wait some more. And then after a minute or more, up to four minutes, hot water finally emerges from the faucet. Meanwhile all that precious water is wasted running down the drain. This process is repeated for countless showers, baths, dishes and other daily tasks [...]
Pressure assisted toilets have come a long way in the past few years and are now becoming very efficient and quiet. Unlike standard gravity fed toilets that depend on the force of gravity to flush a toilet when water in a toilet tank is released, a pressure assist toilet uses compressed air or a small [...]
Introduction: You can easily replace that grungy looking old sink in your kitchen with a nice new sink and do it yourself! There are two basic styles of sinks, self-rimming (or surface mounted or drop-in) and under-mount sinks. If you have a plastic laminate, tile or other countertop material that is not solid throughout, then [...]
………….. What Causes a Garbage Disposal Drain Clog Your garbage disposer is a workhorse appliance in your kitchen and one often taken for granted. Your disposal will have no problem grinding most food waste, but that’s not where the problems with a “clog” lies. Clogs are most often caused by how the ground food waste [...]
There are seemingly endless choices available for bathroom sink vanities. You can spend $50 for an inexpensive wall hung sink or upward of $5,000 for a furniture quality cabinet vanity. Some types of sinks are self contained, others must be installed in or on a countertop, and some are mounted in a piece of cabinetry. [...]
Introduction: Sometimes it is necessary to drain the entire plumbing system in your home. Some of the most common reasons to do this include: *Fixing a water hammer problem; *Seasonal winter shut down of a property; *Major plumbing repair. Seasonal shut down of properties that are not used year round includes a checklist of many [...]