Most homeowners know how to cut the water at the main valve or trip the electrical panel. Natural gas is different. Work on branch gas lines inside a house is not a job for amateurs, and it belongs to licensed plumbers or utility technicians. What a homeowner can safely do is shut off the gas […]
A slow shower drain is one of the most common plumbing complaints in a house, and the cause is almost always the same: strands of hair combining with soap scum into a hairball that eventually blocks the pipe. Most of the time the fix does not require a plumber, and like getting a bird out
A toilet overflow is one of the most stressful plumbing events in a home, and one of the most predictable. There are typically four main reasons: the drain line may be clogged, the plumbing vents are blocked, the main sewer line for the home is plugged, or, if you have a septic system, the septic
A sump pump sits in the lowest corner of a basement, out of sight, and most homeowners never think about it until the day it matters. That day usually arrives during a heavy storm, when groundwater rises and the pump is expected to move water out of the house before the floor floods. Sump pump
A garbage disposal clears food scraps from the kitchen sink in seconds, but the convenience comes with a trade-off: leftover residue breaks down inside the unit and releases odors that can spread through the whole kitchen. Most people notice the problem only when the smell gets strong enough to drift across the room. The good
Draining the water heater is one of the few maintenance jobs a homeowner can finish in about an hour with no material cost. Sediment, rust particles, and dissolved minerals settle on the bottom of the tank and form an insulating layer between the burner or heating elements and the water. That layer forces the unit
A faucet aerator looks like a small mesh screen disk threaded into the tip of a sink spout. It mixes air into the water stream, which keeps the flow smooth and splash-free while using less water than an open pipe. Nearly every kitchen and bathroom faucet ships with one, yet the part gets attention only
Faucets, showerheads, and toilets are a significant share of any kitchen or bathroom renovation budget, and where those fixtures are purchased shapes both the price and the quality behind it. The same name brands appear on the shelves of big box home improvement stores and in the showrooms of specialized plumbing suppliers, often in packaging
A trap is a plumbing fitting that holds water to block sewer gas, bacteria, and insects from moving up a drain into a building. Every water-using fixture, from a kitchen sink to a toilet, has a drain line, and each drain line needs a trap that seals it. The seal keeps the indoor environment fresh
Sizing a tankless water heater starts with flow rate, not storage volume. A storage tank is rated in gallons it holds, while a tankless unit is rated in gallons per minute (GPM) it can heat to the temperature you need. Choose wrong in either direction and the unit either runs out of hot water during
