Your Plumbing Questions, Answered

The faucet mounts with the fixture holes set 8 inches apart. It’s important that you buy the right size faucet to fit.

It is a sealing putty used for a variety of tasks including to seal basket strainers, garbage disposal rims and tub drains.

They do the same job, reducing friction in assembly and provide a watertight seal, but Teflon™ tape is easier to work with and makes a cleaner joint.

Health codes require lead-free solder.

These are applied to a pipe and fitting before applying the solvent weld glue to ensure a strong bond. Their use is always a good idea, especially if it’s for a water supply line or the connection is going to be somewhere that will be difficult to get to in the future.

It cleans the surface prior to soldering. It prevents the oxidation of the metal. And it allows the solder to flow freely.

Yes, a strap wrench grips the pipe without teeth.

CPVC can be used on hot and cold lines, while PVC is for cold water only. PVC is usually used as a drainpipe.

Any fine-tooth saw will work, but make sure you remove any burrs.

You should use a dielectric union. This will prevent electrolysis from occurring, which deteriorates the copper tubing.

There are three ways to repair cracked copper pipe. One is to use plumbers epoxy putty on the area. Two would be to solder the crack and third, if you have enough, cut the bad section and put in compression fitting.

There are three ways to repair cracked copper pipe. One is to use plumbers epoxy putty on the area. Two would be to solder the crack and third, if you have enough, cut the bad section and put in compression fitting.

The pressure relief valve could be leaking. Try operating the valve to see if it will stop. It also might need tightening. A gasket around the heating element may need to be replaced, or the tank could be rusted out, which requires a new hot water heater.

This is a safety device that will open in case of high pressure or temperature.

The refill valve, the flush valve and the trip lever.

Turn off the toilet’s water supply valve, flush the toilet and sponge out any remaining water in the tank. The refill valve is usually removed by turning a nut that holds it in place. When the nut is off, the refill assembly can be lifted out. Install the new assembly by following the manufacturer’s directions.

The toilet supply line head is the larger of the two. The smaller ones are sink supply lines.

If the toilet flushes on its own, the flush valve is probably not seating properly and water is leaking from the tank into the bowl. This could be the result of the lift chain being tangled. If it is the valve, you can change the flapper. Scale deposits on the seat can be removed with steel wool or with No. 500 abrasive paper. Make sure you clean the valve seat. If it still leaks, the seat is damaged and you will need to replace it as well.

That typically indicates problems with the ballcock. There are parts that have the ballcock and float all in one replacement kit. If the toilet doesnft flush at all, the problem may just be a broken flush handle.

This refers to the diameter of a pipe. Some pipes are measured based on their outside diameter, or O.D. Others are measured by their interior diameter, or I.D.

Use a seat wrench, which has several sizes of square and hex ends.

They are less expensive, do not corrode, will not kink, are more flexible and are non-toxic.

It could just be a bad switch that is easy to replace.

You can buy a sump pump that has a battery back up. There are also high-water alarms.

Install an upflush toilet, which is a quick and easy way to install a toilet without breaking into the concrete. Some upflush toilet models also allow you to connect a sink or laundry drain.

No, CPVC requires special solvent cement that is different from cement used for other types of plastic pipe.

First, clean your PVC with a pipe cleaner. Wipe off pipe cleaner with a clean rag. Apply a liberal coat of primer. Apply a thin coat of cement (while primer is still wet) to pipe, insert pipe into socket while still wet. Give a quarter turn if possible, as this will allow the glue to cover any dry spots.

No, they are permanently joined and cannot be taken apart.

Type K is the heaviest. Type L is medium weight and used most often for water lines in homes. Type M is thinner and is used underground or for light domestic water lines if local codes allow.

The high-temperature cutoff may have been tripped, which requires someone to press the reset. Otherwise it’s probably a faulty heating element or thermostat, which can be replaced.

The temperature control may be set too low. Otherwise it’s probably a faulty heating element or thermostat, which can be replaced.

The thermostat may be set too high, or it may be faulty. It could also be a grounded heating element.

The pilot light might be out, or you may have a faulty thermostat.

Yes, you should test the pressure relief valve regularly and replace it if it fails to operate. At least once a year you should flush out the sediments. As long as a tank has a functioning anode, it should not rust. Therefore you should check the anode about once every two years. The fitting is usually on the top of the tank and it’s often tight, so a torque multiplier is a useful tool. If you find 6" or more of the steel core wire exposed, or if the rod formed a hard, adherent calcium carbonate coating that prevents further corrosion of the sacrificial metal, replace the rod. There are segmented rods if overhead clearance is limited.

A basin wrench is a tool designed especially for that.

First, try using a plunger. Second, try using a liquid drain opener, but use caution and read directions. Third, you can remove the trap. Be careful if you have used a liquid drain opener because there may be some in the trap. Fourth, if the clog is beyond the trap, there are drain augers that extend from about 15 feet to about 50 feet. There are also special enzyme-based drain openers that will help dissolve buildup in pipes in older homes.

There are root killers that contain copper sulfate.

An aerator diffuses the water to prevent splashing.

You need a trap to shut off odor (sewer gas) from coming into the kitchen and bath area.

Yes.

Plastic will usually last much longer than chrome, but you have to be careful because it can be affected by some harsh chemicals in drain cleaners.

A check valve keeps water from returning to the sump pit or crawl space after the pump shuts off.

If this is a replacement and the previous one served well for a number of years, you can simply install the same size. If the old one seemed to run too often, you may want to get a slightly larger pump so it doesnft have to work so hard. If this is a new installation, 1/3 hp will normally handle occasional water flow, while a 1/2 hp will be needed if there is daily water flow. You might also consider buying a battery back-up sump pump for emergency use during a power outage, when the main pump fails or when water flow exceeds the capacity of the main pump. Apart from basic systems, you should probably have a plumber install this.

Hard copper is rigid line used throughout the house. Soft copper is used where flexibility is needed, such as faucet supply lines.

This type of fitting squeezes a brass or plastic ring around copper or plastic tubing.

It is not recommended to use compression fitting on hard copper. Instead, use a solder type of fitting. If working with soft copper, then compression fitting will be fine.

It helps prevent contaminated water from flowing back from an irrigation system into the household water supply, since sprinkler lines typically have been exposed to lawn and garden chemicals. Anti-siphon valves can be installed outside in an inconspicuous place anywhere between the sprinkler valve and the inlet pipe to the house. Most sprinkler valves come with an integrated anti-siphon valve.

A connector is slipped over the end of a copper tube, which is then flared out using a special tool. The fitting can then be screwed into another fitting.

Yes

Clean the inside of the fitting, clean the outside of the tubing, apply acid flux, heat the fitting and apply the solder.

Yes, there are transition fittings that make this possible.

Your wax gasket is probably not working anymore. This is a simple problem to fix. You need to remove the toilet and install a new wax ring. While you have the toilet off, you should go ahead and replace the bolts. Otherwise, it could be a crack in your toilet bowl.

There may be too much space between the flange and the bottom of the toilet. If you recently remodeled the bathroom, for example, you may have raised the height of the floor. To fix, either raise the flange and drain or use a double wax ring or a ring with a plastic sleeve.

If it is a small crack, you can try to repair it. Drain the toilet, dry it off, apply some Plumber’s Goop and let it dry completely before refilling the tank. However, you may have to replace the bowl.

See if your toilet has an overflow pipe. If so, a rubber tube should go into it. It has a metal clip on it and sometimes it can come loose.

This is a good idea to keep moisture from getting under the faucet and into the cabinet below.

It could be that you have lost your “air cushion.” To get it back, turn the water supply off at the main valve. Turn on all the faucets around your home. Then turn on the main valve again and shut off each faucet. This should take care of the problem.

This valve is under the sink or beside the toilet and shuts off the water to the faucet or toilet.

There are glue-in repair kits, but not all kits fit all toilets. And you must follow the manufacturer’s directions closely.

The flush valves are held to the tank by one large jam nut on the bottom of the tank. Installing a new valve usually requires removing the tank from the bowl.

After flushing the toilet, let it refill. Now put a few drops of food coloring into the tank. If the color appears in the bowl after a few minutes, there is a leak.

Yes. Shut off the water supply to the toilet. Mark the water level on the inside of the tank with a pencil. Check the water level in 10 or 20 minutes. If the water has fallen, you know the flush valve is leaking.

If the refill valve is leaking, the tank overfills and the excess water runs into the overflow pipe and into the bowl.

It needs to be high enough for complete flushes, but it should be below the top of the overflow pipe. The tank should have a colored or molded water level mark. The rule of thumb is to set the water level about _" below the top of the overflow pipe.

To adjust the water level on a conventional toilet tank, you simply bend the float arm down to lower the water level or up to raise it. Another widely popular valve has a pinch clamp that allows you to raise or lower the float.

It is a pipe that runs from the toilet drain to the outside, usually to the roof. This prevents air lock in the drain line.

It's probably related to the stink (vent) pipe on your roof, which allows gases that build up in the sewer pipes to be carried away. A marked difference between the low pressure outside and the higher pressure inside will cause the water levels to fluctuate. It will be less pronounced if you leave the bathroom door open, which may not be desirable. You can also climb on the roof and check out the stink pipe, which may need to be cleaned out with a snake.

Normal time periods are one month to three months.

They take out smaller particulates that are circulating in the air.

Actually, since they catch more particulates, they typically last a shorter amount of time. Always check the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Install a frost-free lawn faucet that is angled down to drain. For existing faucets, you can use an insulating cover.

Pipe wrap will solve this problem.

No, you measure hard copper with I.D. (inside diameter). You measure soft copper by its O.D. (outside diameter).

You measure it by the I.D. (inside diameter).

Using I.D. (inside diameter).

Use fiberglass. Don’t use foam wrap because the heat could melt it.