| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| toilet empties | 11/24/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: We noticed a very foul odor coming from our toilet yesterday and today it is unbearable. It smells ...
A: There could be several reasons for this happening. Definitely you are getting sewer gas up because ...
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| Plugged hot water heater | 11/24/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: I was getting very low hot water pressure. I remooved the hot water connection from the heater, and ...
A: I've come across this problem three times in 26 years, so it's not very common. Some water heaters ...
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| Water heater | 11/24/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: My son has an electric water heater. On the cold water inlet, there is a 1/2 inch copper pipe with ...
A: It may just be a way to drain the cold lines ahead of the heater for some reason. Not a standardly ...
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| Washing Machine overflows when draining | 11/24/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: I recently moved into a new house and got a new(er) washer; a high-capacity version that dumps a lot ...
A: The one inch pipe you measured, is that the drain pipe the washing machine hose goes into? The ...
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| Air Admittance valve problem | 11/24/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: The kitchen sink in mobile home took two days to drain. Tried standard drain opener gel. No better. ...
A: It's not likely that you damaged it with the snake. It is not in the path when you clear the line. ...
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| Toilet | 11/24/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: We recently put new sheetrock into our basement bathroom. We had to remove the toilet and sink. Now ...
A: Do you mean the toilet will only FILL when the faucet is running? Like water will not enter the ...
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| smell in bathroom sink | 11/23/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: The only place we smell a very bad odor is in the bathroom sink.we have used drano and other other ...
A: Sewer smells are the most difficult things to pinpoint because there are often a number of causes, ...
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| Is a maserating toilet my solution | 11/23/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I live in Florida and I recently purchased a home built in the early 60s. The previous owner added ...
A: Macerating toilets are designed for basements so they do not drain down. I doubt you have the fall ...
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| Toilet Water Connecter Line | 11/23/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: When installing a new toilet at the corner in the powder room, my contractor put the water connector ...
A: Yes, it looks like crap but it is not against the code. He is just a cut corners type of guy I ...
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| kitchen drain backs up to into bathtub | 11/23/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: When draining a sink of water down the kitchen drain the water and some food particles come up my ...
A: I have given this a lot of thought. I sat and drew pictures, I discussed this with my husband who is ...
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| shower faucet | 11/23/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: When I turn on the faucet (Moen - pull out and turn left for hot), the water is only lukewarm. My ...
A: The Moen fixture has a long cylindrical cartridge, old style is brass [much better], new style is ...
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| trap on bathroom sink | 11/23/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: my question is how best to set up trap for sink when new sink is 14" from the drain going into the ...
A: I sent you an answer to your question last night, but somehow it disappeared. This has happened a ...
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| toilet flapper | 11/23/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I would like to know how often do I have to change a flapper because I've already changed it twice ...
A: You may have a high level of chlorine in your water. This will deteriorate the rubber parts ...
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| Removing old bathtub caulk | 11/23/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I would like to remove old caulk from my bathtub but I am having a difficult time with it. What is ...
A: I'm afraid that I don't have any magic trick. It just needs to be dug out by hand. It's doing what ...
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| Leak Repair | 11/23/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: I have a 10 year old house plumbed with PEX tubing. The main supply line from the pressure tank has ...
A: Bill, Very wise not to tighten that anymore. It's considered a serious sin in plumbing to put male ...
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| removing a jacuzzi bath tub and reusing in another bathroom | 11/22/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: We would like to remove a corner jacuzzi bath tub and relocate it. Is this possible if the tub was ...
A: It can be done but I don't envy you the job! The mortar bed is needed to support the tub, especially ...
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| Air in water system | 11/22/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I have been at this this house for 20 years; I have a submergible pump with a bladder tank that was ...
A: Well systems are not my forte but air in the water is usually from cavitation. The pump impeller may ...
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| Draining Hot Water Heater | 11/22/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: We have a home (built in 2007) and I went to drain the hot water heater (gas) as recommended when we ...
A: You had the right idea about opening a faucet in the house, the tiny opening in a faucet doesn't ...
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| Toilet flush valve problem | 11/22/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: I'm made a mess. I tried to replace my toilet flush valve got the toilet pulled apart and now I ...
A: I have to give you credit for taking on such a project! What you need is a very large ajustable ...
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| slow draining toilet | 11/22/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: Our toilet drains slow. I can get a snake through it. I took the toilet off and found a soft scale ...
A: You hadn't mentioned before that the water comes almost to the top of the bowl when you flush. This ...
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| sewer gas smell | 11/22/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: It seems that every time that my washing machine discharges water that soon afterward there is a ...
A: Bob, I'm not sure what you mean when you say the pipe under the crawl space is the sewer vent. In my ...
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| ball type kitchen faucet | 11/21/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: We are trying to repair a PricePfister ball type kitchen faucet. It is leaking from inside the ...
A: Is there actually a "ball faucet repair kit"? Made by Price Pfister? There are hundreds of faucets ...
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| Loose Grohe Ladylux Kitchen Faucet | 11/21/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: We have a fairly new (1.5 year old) Grohe Kitchen faucet that is loose from the base of the sink. ...
A: If the whole faucet above is loose on the coutertop, the nut you need to tighten is underneath the ...
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| Push-button toilets | 11/21/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I am living in the Philippines and had two toilets installed in June of this year. They are the ...
A: I've seen these several times here in the states. They are supposed to save water by having a "half ...
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| water pump pressure | 11/21/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: i starting losing pressure starting having problems flushing when i asked about it i was told that ...
A: To be perfectly honest, I should have rejected your question because I have no experience with sewer ...
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| Ceiling leaking from bathroom into dining room | 11/21/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: So we bought a brand new townhome in june. Brand new, never used everything up to code, blah blah. ...
A: If this was an overflow from a clogged toilet, you are on your own as far as the builders warranty ...
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| Replacing Toilet Flange | 11/21/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: We are trying to replace a toilet flange in the basement (concrete). We are wanting to change the ...
A: Sounds like they used a glue on fixed flange. Not a lot you can do about that without breaking the ...
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| slow draining toilet | 11/21/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: Our toilet drains slow. I can get a snake through it. I took the toilet off and found a soft scale ...
A: The slow draining and the scale build-up may or may not be related. The "soft-scale build-up" you ...
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| clogged toilet/auger question | 11/20/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I have a clogged toilet that I was able to clear last week with a borrowed auger. It is clogged ...
A: Yep, we call those "white rats" in the plumbing trade. LOL you should see some of the stuff I've ...
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| Stuck home water valve | 11/20/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: To drain my water heater, I turned off both the feed valve to water heater and the main water valve ...
A: Yes, this could be a problem. I expect you have a "gate valve". With a gate valve, the outside stem ...
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| leak repair | 11/20/2009 | Anthony - The Plumber |
Q: In the crawlspace of my house where the drain pipe goes out to the septic there is cast iron pipe ...
A: Marty, You can use a cement fix, however, keep in mind that it is only temporary and the area will ...
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| leak repair | 11/20/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: In the crawlspace of my house where the drain pipe goes out to the septic there is cast iron pipe ...
A: Hub and spigot Cast Iron has lead and oakum joints. Tarred rope called oakum is pounded into the ...
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| leak repair | 11/20/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: Sharon you helped me in the spring. Now I've got a different leak to figure out. In the crawlspace ...
A: Mortar would most likely not stop a leak if the leak is on the bottom of the pipe. Can you tell if ...
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| Frozen pipes & Overflow | 11/20/2009 | Anthony - The Plumber |
Q: We moved into a new construction home 4 years ago. We live in Iowa so the winters are cold. I have ...
A: Jodi, It might be that the p-trap is getting frozen causing the water to slow. I would check the ...
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| hot water at sink | 11/20/2009 | Anthony - The Plumber |
Q: We have to run water for four or five min. to get hot water at kitchen sink. Is there any way to ...
A: Erbie, Depending upon the size of your water heater and the distance from the kitchen, you may ...
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| new construction shower faucet | 11/20/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: okay i am currently building a house and at the plumbing stage. I bought the 3 handle aquasource tub ...
A: I haven't seen a new model three handle tub/shower fixture in years! Almost all tub/shower fixtures ...
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| water tank leak | 11/20/2009 | Anthony - The Plumber |
Q: I have a duron censible state water heater. There are two spots on the top of the water heater where ...
A: Mark, You may be able to fix this if it is a leak at the threads of a nipple, otherwise, you may ...
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| water tank leak | 11/20/2009 | Dana Bostick |
Q: I have a duron censible state water heater. There are two spots on the top of the water heater where ...
A: The nipples into the tank are probably starting to corrode and leak. Replacing them is a fairly ...
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| water tank leak | 11/20/2009 | Sharon McCarthy |
Q: I have a duron censible state water heater. There are two spots on the top of the water heater where ...
A: This could be one of two things. First, let me tell you about the State Duron tank. It has a ...
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| tub/shower balance valve | 11/20/2009 | Anthony - The Plumber |
Q: I have what i believe to be a Sigma 300 series tub and shower faucet. I believe it has a balance ...
A: Joe, Thank you Joe for the recognition. It is indeed my honor to be part of AllExperts.com I ...
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