Some Hopefully Helpful Plumbing Tips

[Hostile]

Drips are different than leaks. A drip is coming out of a spout. A leak is coming out of a pipe.

You may ask, what about if the water coming out of the spout is steady? That is a steady drip or stream. It is still technically not a leak.

So let's say you have water under your sink coming out of the pipes. That is a leak. You have water spraying inside your wall from a ruptured pipe. That is a leak. You have water bubbling up from underground. That is a leak.

Leaks are repaired differently than drips. Leaks required pipes or connections to be repaired. Leaks probably require a plumber.

Any drip can fix a drip with the right tools and parts.

Let me start with an outdoor hose bib. They look like something like this.

This is a typical gate valve hose bib. I hate them, but they work and that is the point.

This particular model has threads that attach it to a pipe that feeds the water. Some may be soldered on.

The first step in any drip repair is to shut off the water. You can do this at the water meter. Often there are shut off valves around the plumbing.

A hose bib like this can really only leak because of one reason. The packing is shot. You see the nut at the top of the valve under the handle? That is a packing nut. Remove it and the whole valve assembly comes right out.

Take that to the hardware store and they will show you the correct packing.

You know how people remove handles, lose them and start turning hose bibs off and on with pliers until they look like hell? You can actually replace that whole valve once you have it out. Simply take it to the store and ask for help.

Once you have the valve and new packing back in the hose bib, turn the water back on. Drip stopped.

Suppose you want to do yourself a really big favor and replace that hose bib with a good one that is worth your money. This is what you want.

That is a ball valve hose bib. They never leak. They never die. They're under 10 bucks. When that handle is in that position, inline with the flow of the water, it is 100% open. Turn it 90 degrees and the water is 100% off.

You can look at it and know if it is on or off. There is no question. Did I mention they never leak?

To replace those hose bibs does require some knowledge and effort. You usually need a pipe wrench, a pair of channel locks, and some teflon tape or pipe dope.

The tape or dope is to seal the threads. Your biggest trick is to thread these on properly and tight enough but not too tight. Some need to be soldered on. I am not going to coach you through that in this thread. I can teach people how to solder but by showing, not by typing an explanation.

If you own your home and love it, 1/4 turn ball valves are a must. For every hose bib, water heater valve, or angle stop in your house, they are worth the price.

 

[Hostile]

Since I brought up outdoor hose bibs first I felt it a good time to offer this advice. Any exposed pipe should have a proper insulation on it in the winter. It is simple foam that you can buy at any hardware store and slip it over the pipes. Keep them from freezing.

Another important trick is to let a faucet somewhere in the house drip a little to keep the water moving. Harder to freeze if it is not sitting still. I had someone tell me one time that they could not stand that idea because they hate wasting water.

Simple, get a 5 gallon bucket, put it under the bath tub spout, let it drip all night. Use the water to water the plants or the animals. No waste.

 

[Dallas]

I need a good plumber. I want them to come replace all of my faucets in my bathroom w/ new ones I bought.

I hate doing that stuff, because I always mess it up. To bad I can't trade my computer knowledge and time for some Plumbers knowledge and time.

Hrmmm

I also purchased the wrong faucet for my sink in the bathroom. I got a 2 handle faucet and I guess your supposed to stick w/ the single handle fauce that's on it? Why can't I just use the double?

Questions questions questions.

 

[Hostile]

I need a good plumber. I want them to come replace all of my faucets in my bathroom w/ new ones I bought.

I hate doing that stuff, because I always mess it up. To bad I can't trade my computer knowledge and time for some Plumbers knowledge and time.

Hrmmm

I also purchased the wrong faucet for my sink in the bathroom. I got a 2 handle faucet and I guess your supposed to stick w/ the single handle fauce that's on it? Why can't I just use the double?

Questions questions questions.

The only way you can't use the faucet is if the holes do not line up.

For example, if you have a specialty faucet like this.

It could mean the holes cut in the sink are spaces for only specialty faucets.

As long as the holes are standard, any faucet can be added, even specialty ones like that.

 

[tupperware]

Hostile do you have a blog?

 

[Yeagermeister]

You can thank me for being the motivation for this thread. :laugh2:

 

[Hostile]

You can thank me for being the motivation for this thread. :laugh2:

He is telling the truth. The point is to be able to look up an answer in case I am not online. I hope to cover enough simple plumbing things to help someone. If it helps even one person I will be quite happy.

 

[Hostile]

Hostile do you have a blog?

For handyman or construction stuff? No. Not sure I want one either. Can I ask why?

 

[tupperware]

For handyman or construction stuff? No. Not sure I want one either. Can I ask why?

Dunno you always have a lot of stories and useful information. Seems to me with which the frequency you always have something useful or interesting to talk about you'd have a blog with frequent viewers that extend outside the Cowboy fan base.

 

[peplaw06]

Last time I did a round of laundry there was backflow in my hall bathroom (tub and toilet) and in my master bath (shower)... And now the shower in my master bath is slow to drain. Any suggestions?

Edit: I should add that my washing machine is on the opposite end of the house from the bathrooms... Not sure if that helps or not, but thought I'd throw it in there.

 

[Wimbo]

Drips are different than leaks. A drip is coming out of a spout. A leak is coming out of a pipe.

I thought drips came out of Philly?

 

[Chief]

Drips are different than leaks. A drip is coming out of a spout. A leak is coming out of a pipe.

You may ask, what about if the water coming out of the spout is steady? That is a steady drip or stream. It is still technically not a leak.

So let's say you have water under your sink coming out of the pipes. That is a leak. You have water spraying inside your wall from a ruptured pipe. That is a leak. You have water bubbling up from underground. That is a leak.

Leaks are repaired differently than drips. Leaks required pipes or connections to be repaired. Leaks probably require a plumber.

Any drip can fix a drip with the right tools and parts.

Let me start with an outdoor hose bib. They look like something like this.

This is a typical gate valve hose bib. I hate them, but they work and that is the point.

This particular model has threads that attach it to a pipe that feeds the water. Some may be soldered on.

The first step in any drip repair is to shut off the water. You can do this at the water meter. Often there are shut off valves around the plumbing.

A hose bib like this can really only leak because of one reason. The packing is shot. You see the nut at the top of the valve under the handle? That is a packing nut. Remove it and the whole valve assembly comes right out.

Take that to the hardware store and they will show you the correct packing.

You know how people remove handles, lose them and start turning hose bibs off and on with pliers until they look like hell? You can actually replace that whole valve once you have it out. Simply take it to the store and ask for help.

Once you have the valve and new packing back in the hose bib, turn the water back on. Drip stopped.

Suppose you want to do yourself a really big favor and replace that hose bib with a good one that is worth your money. This is what you want.

That is a ball valve hose bib. They never leak. They never die. They're under 10 bucks. When that handle is in that position, inline with the flow of the water, it is 100% open. Turn it 90 degrees and the water is 100% off.

You can look at it and know if it is on or off. There is no question. Did I mention they never leak?

To replace those hose bibs does require some knowledge and effort. You usually need a pipe wrench, a pair of channel locks, and some teflon tape or pipe dope.

The tape or dope is to seal the threads. Your biggest trick is to thread these on properly and tight enough but not too tight. Some need to be soldered on. I am not going to coach you through that in this thread. I can teach people how to solder but by showing, not by typing an explanation.

If you own your home and love it, 1/4 turn ball valves are a must. For every hose bib, water heater valve, or angle stop in your house, they are worth the price.

This.

Next time you're in Las Cruces, come by and do this for me. I'll pay you back with all you can eat at My Brother's Place.

 

[Hostile]

Last time I did a round of laundry there was backflow in my hall bathroom (tub and toilet) and in my master bath (shower)... And now the shower in my master bath is slow to drain. Any suggestions?

Edit: I should add that my washing machine is on the opposite end of the house from the bathrooms... Not sure if that helps or not, but thought I'd throw it in there.

Let me ask a follow up question before I answer. Does your house have a crawl space underneath it? Or is it directly on the foundation on the ground?

 

[Hostile]

This.

Next time you're in Las Cruces, come by and do this for me. I'll pay you back with all you can eat at My Brother's Place.

Hey, it's a deal. Just let me know if I need to bring my torch if they are soldered. My cousin is moving back to Cruces and I may help him move and unpack. If so, I can do it then before I head back home.

 

[Hostile]

I thought drips came out of Philly?

Those are log bases.

 

[Faerluna]

Last time I did a round of laundry there was backflow in my hall bathroom (tub and toilet) and in my master bath (shower)... And now the shower in my master bath is slow to drain. Any suggestions?

Edit: I should add that my washing machine is on the opposite end of the house from the bathrooms... Not sure if that helps or not, but thought I'd throw it in there.

We had a slow sink in the master bath and I used that Liquid Plumber foaming pipe snake. Cleared the drain right up. Might just be soap/hair buildup along with whatever else was in the laundry water.

 

[peplaw06]

Let me ask a follow up question before I answer. Does your house have a crawl space underneath it? Or is it directly on the foundation on the ground?

Crawl space.... for most of the house. There's an add-on that's on a slab, but no plumbing in those rooms.

 

[Hostile]

Crawl space.... for most of the house. There's an add-on that's on a slab, but no plumbing in those rooms.

Okay, there are three possible problems that I can think of.

The first one would be that once the plumbing leaves your crawl space it hits ceramic sewer lines that have been invaded by roots. Old ceramic lines had bells that were bigger to allow the connections to be put together using a shovel. The problem was these bells eventually attract roots and the roots find the water and basically invade the line.

Today's black ABS sewer lines are the only way to go and at some point it is possible you may need to dig up the old lines and replace them.

The second possible problem is that a sewer line under the house is sagging in the middle. This would cause a build up of material in the sag. Then once the laundry water hits that area it would back fill until it exits the plumbing you mentioned. I strongly believe this one will be your problem because in crawl space plumbing the fact that the laundry room is so far away from your bathroom that is affected is really irrelevant since the actual sewer line might be closer to the affected bathroom and is coming a long way to find the first possible exit.

The fix is to crawl under the house and get the sag out by bracing underneath the pipe. Once water flow is returned to normal the problem should end.

The last potential problem is similar to the one above. It could be that there is no sag and that there's just something in the sewer line that is catching stuff.

Once again I refer to the balloon device I posted earlier. That thing can work as a hydro-jet for the sewer line. If you have a clean out drain handy in a wall or outside simply take the cap off and shove the hose with the balloon in and turn it on. Let it run for about 20 to 30 minutes and with a little luck it will completely clean your drain lines.

 

[Hostile]

I'll tell you guys a semi funny plumbing story. Plumbing has vents. You've all seen pipes sticking up out of roofs. These are plumbing vents. These allow the sewer gases to escape so that your house doesn't reek. You want to play a joke on a friend? Go plug up the sewer lines on his roof. In a couple of days he will be cursing like a sailor at the smell in his house.

So I used to have this lady who was a regular customer. She took some advice I offered one time and had dual cooling installed on her house. She already had air conditioning and I said she could save some money adding swamp cooling for when that is sufficient. So she did.

Immediately she said there was something dead in the swamp cooler and it was stinking up her house. Then she said it smelled like crap. I knew exactly what it was and told her to call the cooler people back and have them fix the vent. They put the swamp cooler too close to the vent so it was sucking the sewer gases into her house.

She said that was not the problem and she was sure something had died and could I please come get it out.

I grabbed some ABS pipe and some glue and the sports section of the USA Today. I climbed on her roof and sure enough the vent pipe was 2 feet away from the swamp cooler. I stuck a piece of ABS and a coupler on it to extend it so the gases couldn't get in, sat down and read the football news, charged her 50 bucks for my trip across town and 2 minutes of work.

She was delighted and swore I was a genius.

 

[Hostile]

Okay, last one unless I get asked for anything.

Drips in sinks and bathtubs.

Every faucet or shower assembly has moving parts that allow the water to flow where it is supposed to and to turn off and on. Each manufacturer is slightly different.

Inside any faucet or shower assembly there are rubber parts. Rubber makes a great seal. Tear in the rubber means weak seal which means a drip.

Let's talk first about the kitchen faucet. Let's say you see water around the base of the spout. This is actually a leak. Remember, a drip is in a spout, a leak is in a pipe. The spout is a pipe. Kitchen faucets have movable spouts so you can fill up either side of a sink. Those movable spouts have a rubber O-ring.

Take a pair of channel locks and remove the spout cinch ring. Now wiggle the spout and it will come out of the well. The O-ring will either be worn or missing. If it if missing it may be down in the well. If you cannot find it no big deal. Take the spout to the hardware store instead of the O-ring. They should be able to match it correctly quite easily.

Now if the water is coming out of the spout this is a drip. This is caused by one of three things. It can even be multiple things.

This is a stem...

This particular one is for a shower. This is one for a faucet...

On the bottom of all stems are rubber washers. On many, like the tub one above, there is a phillips screw holding it in place. If these washer show any indentation at all they are worn and will begin to drip.

You can replace the entire stem for under 10 bucks most of the time. Or you can replace that washer for a few cents and usually that is enough. If the stem is worn out, replace it. If it looks fairly good, replace the washer.

Now, often there is a piece that wears out these washers that is inside the faucet or the shower assembly. These are called seats.

I picked a large picture so you can see the seats.

Notice the square hole in the middle. This is for a special "seat wrench." Looks like this.

Or you can get a fancy one with a ratchet wrench. Even the fancy ones are under 15 bucks.

Simply put the seat wrench into the seat and remove it. You might see where it is pitted. This is causing much bigger leaks.

Put the new seat in with the wrench and replace the stem with the new washer and the drip is fixed.

One point about some single lever shower controls. Many of these, particularly Delta brands require you to buy a repair kit. They are very cheap and come with instructions. Replace all of the moving parts with new parts from the kit. It is really very easy to do.

One last reminder from a previous tip. On the shower stem shown above there is a nut at the base of the stem. This is the packing nut. If you see water coming out of your shower handle it means that but is loose.