That Leaky Garden Hose

Fix That Leaky Garden Hose Time to green up outside. Whether it’s cleaning the patio or watering the grass and flowers, we all have plenty of uses for our garden hoses. But what about those leaky connectors, the splits or damaged fittings? You don’t want to waste a perfectly good hose – but think of […]

Knock Knock…It’s Your Plumbing

Every time the clothes washer fills, you hear knocking and thumping in the wall or basement. Then it knocks again during the rinse cycle. What’s knocking? Often it’s the water pipes knocking against the framing of your home. You may also hear a knock after the toilet fills or when you quickly turn off a […]

Your Nose Knows It’s Time to Clean the Disposal

Eeuuww – what’s that smell in the kitchen? Yuck, it’s from the sink. It smells like sewage or rotten food. The sink looks clean, and you try flushing lots of water down the drain. You run the garbage disposal, and it works fine. The smell persists. What should you do? The smell could be caused […]

Water Heater Drip Needs Attention

One fine day, you walk past the water heater, and your foot gets wet. Hmm, that’s strange. You take a look and notice a very slow drip – drip – drip from the tube on the side of the water heater. That can’t be too bad. Just put a bucket under the tube to catch […]

Stains Around a Toilet = Serious Problem

Always be on the lookout for water leaks in your home, including little clues that could indicate bigger problems. For instance, if interior paint is bubbling or loose, you’re likely to find a water leak behind the paint. Around your toilet, check the vinyl flooring. Any gray stain in the vinyl that can’t be washed […]

Plumbing Vent? What Plumbing Vent?

All modern plumbing systems in residential construction have a plumbing vent. It doesn’t just vent unwanted odors from the drainage system to the outside; it serves an essential purpose by supplying air to the system. The plumbing drainage system in your home is called a drainage, waste, and vent (DWV) system. When water flows down […]

A Quick “Bucket” Fix to Flush the Toilet

A Quick Bucket Fix to Flush the Toilet You’ve turned off the water to the toilet because the tank or a plumbing fitting is leaking. But since this is your only toilet, it needs to be used before the plumber arrives tomorrow to fix the leak. How can you flush the toilet in the meantime? […]

When Your Kitchen Faucet Slows Down

Your plumbing system works fine everywhere in the house – except at the kitchen sink, where the volume and force of water are petering out. What’s going on? There may be a quick fix. The spout often contains an aerator that introduces air into the water, so the flow seems stronger, even though the flow […]

Pop-Up Stopper Sticks

Most bathroom sinks have a “pop-up” sink stopper that opens and closes when you operate a small knob or lever built into the faucet. Push it down, and the stopper pops up to drain the sink; lift it , and the stopper closes. Most of these mechanisms need adjustments from time to time, and many […]

The Rain May Drain, But It’s Not a Pain

When a rain gutter and downspout send their discharge below grade to a pipe, it may appear that rainwater is draining into a sanitary sewer, but it really isn’t. In municipal areas with sewer systems, gutter (rainwater) discharge is normally routed into a storm sewer. This storm piping routes water to rivers and streams and […]