Plumbing

You will need to have some tools handy to complete this installation: a crescent wrench or open end wrench, a large flat blade screw driver, and a pair of pliers. You will need...

This article tells you how to unclog a toilet without using a plunger or other device.

This article has information on the different choices involved in plumbing pipe materials you can use with a water heater, including the connections, metal, and plastic materials....

Learn what causes sediment build-up as well as how to control and remove it from your water heater by dissolving and flushing the inside out the drain valve at the bottom.

Every water heater has safety features built into it. In this article are descriptions of these features, as well as descriptions of additional precautions to take before working...

The information in this article only applies to tank-type water heaters (gas or electric). It does not include information on solar water heaters or tankless water heaters.

This article contains a discussion of all the different types of drain valves--why some types break easily or leak and which types to use as replacements.

This article is for electric water heater owners only. Many problems can besiege the heating parts in an electric water heater. These problems include sediment build-up, burnout...

Provides helpful information about plastic-lined nipples, both brass and steel and how they relate to a water heater.

This article discusses all the different types of drain valves -- why some types break easily or leak, and which types to replace it with.

This article teaches you how to save money by instituting all the following devices: Electric temperature controls, heat traps, low-flow shower heads, pipe insulation, recirculating...

Includes a discussion extolling the virtues of curved dip tubes. Also talks about the flaws of standard dip tubes and what a broken dip tube will mean for your showers and baths.

There are almost a dozen trouble spots for water heaters when it comes to corrosion. You'll find them on electric elements, anodes, combustion chambers, and vent pipes. Softened...

Describes the temperature controls for both types of water heaters and how to use them.

This article discusses brass pipe nipples and how they can be salvaged or replaced when they become broken or rusted. It also tells how to handle the pipe nipple in the case of...

This article describes what to look for when consumers go looking for a new water heater.

Explains the difference between commercial and residential water heaters. Describes what hatches, multiple flues and powered anodes are. Includes instructions on how to clean...

Describes what anode rods are and how they work. Explains the difference between aluminum, magnesium and zinc anodes as well as combination, link and power anodes. Explains what...

Are you tired of reporting to your building repairman or housemate that “someone” clogged the toilet? Most of us hate to admit when we clog a toilet, mainly because we fear...

Sump pumps and ejector pumps are very similar - both are installed in a pit to pump water out of it, and most people would not be able to tell them apart by looking at them. But...

There are a two basic types of stainless steel sinks: undermount and self-rimming. The undermount is used in installations where the countertop material is the same all the way...

Years ago my ex-husband and I lived on a houseboat. Because our water pipe ran along a dock, we had to keep an eye on the pipe in the winter.....if it got too cold, we would shut...

Sump pumps really aren't very complicated devices compared to some of the other things you have in your home.  And yet their service can save you thousands in water damage, should...

Corrosion is the deterioration of materials, usually metal, due to reactions with the environment. While corrosion can occur anywhere, it is the corrosion of a home's pipes that...

If you are renovating your home, you may consider redoing your kitchen.  Part of this renovation might entail redoing your countertops.  The sink is an integral part of your...