Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with plumbing

How to fix weird sink smell

tomwheeler — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:10:07 -0800

Lately the cold water in my bathroom sink has a musty odor when I first turn on the tap. What should I do to fix this? Last year we installed a new sink and it worked great for many months afterwards. For the last few months, I've noticed that the cold water smells moldy (kind of like lake water) when I first turn it on. The smell disappears after I've run it for about 20 seconds.

Strangely, the hot water from the same sink does not have this smell, nor does either the cold or hot water in the shower in the same bathroom have it. In fact, no other sinks in the house seem to have this problem.

I saw this similar post but it's for a kitchen sink/garbage disposal, so the advice doesn't seem to apply. Is there anything I can do, aside from calling a plumber, to fix this problem?

My shower vibrates loudly.

reductiondesign — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:39:23 -0800

How can I stop my vibrating shower pipes… in a college dorm? My shower here at college will vibrate really loudly, seemingly at random. Sometimes if I turn the water all the way to hot or all the way to cold, it stops. This isn't a daily thing, and it does eventually go away on its own—that can take anywhere from five seconds to five minutes.

The building is brand-new this year, so I don't think it's a matter of old plumbing. No one else has this problem. It's a shower/tub combination, with a level to pull up on the faucet to activate the shower.

What might be causing this? Might I be able to fix it on my own, or will I have to submit a work order?

I want to stop wasting water

jujube — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:40:55 -0800

How can I get my toilet to fill up all the way to the waterline? My toilet isn't filling up all the way with water. Because of this, water gets wasted because instead of a single flush doing the job, two or more flushes are needed.

In the past, when I wanted to adjust the water level in the tank, all I had to do was adjust the arm on the ball float. But this toilet has a different mechanism, where the "ball float" is part of the valve mechanism, and rests just beneath the filler tube. I saw that the float was set to about 1 1/2" below the top, so I adjusted the height as far as it would go up. That helped raise the water level, and now it's about an inch below the water level line mark.

Anything else I can do to raise the water level to where it should be?

Don't mean to pry...

lgandme0717 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:10:04 -0800

Need to replace a toilet seat. The hardware seems to be fixed fast to the throne; the screw is all rusty, there's a plastic-y sort of nut that has resisted all my attempts to pry off with a wrench. Would really like to do this myself and avoid having to call in a plumber. I'm about to go out to buy some WD-40. Anything else I should get as well or instead? It's driving me crazy! Any suggestions you have would be most appreciated...

Why is my sump pump bone dry?

Waldo Jeffers — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:42:53 -0800

Why is my sump pump bone dry? My sump pump, which I am certain works perfectly well, is completely dry in the middle of a rainy November in Seattle! What the heck? We had an extremely dry summer, but for the last few months it has been a typical Seattle fall. Why hasn't the water beneath/around our house worked its way into the sump pit?

I know the pump works. I've tested it, and I've had a plumber test it. The GFI at the outlet it's plugged into was tripped for a long time during the hot summer (probably not related to pump), so it was down until the beginning of October. However, isn't that enough time for the ground to get soaked enough for water to work its way into the pit?

Power-vented water heaters -- what say you?

sesquipedalia — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:35:58 -0800

Replacing a water heater... to power-vent or not to power-vent? That is the question. Old water heater (possibly as old as 18 years) is leaking and will go away soon. It's currently chimney-vented; I'm pretty sure the chimney has a liner, but I don't know much about its size (so it's hard to tell if the current venting is effective at venting the heater's output). The furnace no longer vents to the chimney. This has all been unchanged for the past 7 years and there have been no problems, no carbon monoxide alarms aboveground, etc. The house is old and the basement windows (most windows, actually) are far from airtight, so there should be sufficient drafts for convection.

Plumber is recommending a power-vented heater instead of ventung the new one throughy the chimney too. His main argument is that as houses get tightened up and more airtight, chimney convection gets much less effective.

We're probably moving out of the house in the next 5-10 years and don't currently plan on doing an energy audit / making the house more airtight / replacing the basement windows etc in the meantime.

Plumber's quote is $800 for straight replacement with a new chimney-vented heater); $1500 for installing a power-vented one, setting up the venting, etc.

What experiences do you all have with power-vented heaters? Pros and cons? Do you think it's worth doing in this case? And is the cost differential (and the actual amount quoted) reasonable?

Thanks, hive mind!

Shower-filter filter

Lesser Shrew — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:26:31 -0800

Tell me about your shower filter - why'd you get it and does it do what you wanted? The city did something a few months ago and my water changed. It's now very hard and leaves a stain in the dog water bowl. I'm feeling kind of itchy and with winter coming I'm wondering if shower filters work.

Does anyone have a shower filter on a hand-held shower?

How to repair a leaking water valve?

cedar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:44:38 -0800

I have a cast iron valve on a basement water (cold supply) line that is leaking. It's an antique so there is no repacking it and in a fairly inaccessible location so cutting it out and replacing it is bound to be an expensive nightmare involving a real. This valve is redundant and does not need to be functional. I was wondering if there is a product (I'm thinking a gooey oakum type thing) that I can wrap around the valve stem to form a seal? This will have to work in a wet environment as there is no way to turn the water off before the leaky valve.

Ack! My do-it-myself bidet is not a feature...

Nanukthedog — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:33:21 -0800

[PlumbingFilter] Ack! The toilet sprang a leak and is now acting like an impromptu bidet when flushed! What is the proper way to fix this? (more inside) So. The toilet has a small chip on the flat part, just behind the seat and infront of the tank - you know - the solid part that collects crud. Unfortunately, this chip seems to be right above where the water comes out - meaning that when you flush the toilet, a small stream (not all) shoots out of this hole and soaks the seat for about 10-15 seconds. This is a tiny hole - I mean a really tiny tiny hole.

I don't know how this happened, but I would assume that a combination of something being dropped from the cabinet above, and perhaps some rusting or wear and tear from below caused the porcelain to give out. Either way, this is inconvenient, as toilet water (at least from the clean end) spews forth every time it is flushed.

We rent, no landlord in their right mind would replace a toilet over this, and realistically I know that I'm going to need to fix this myself if I want it done (at least partially) right. Obviously, home depot doesn't cover this sort of thing in their plumbing books, so I'm at a bit of a loss...

I can think of a few ways to fix this, but I don't know what really is the best way, or if it is the sign of something else... I need suggestions, help advice and some more advanced know-how..

My thoughts sofar:
1. clear silicone caulk from the inside, then smoothed to fill the hole on both sides. The problem with this is I would assume the drying time might make living in a 1-bathroom appartment a little rough. Plus this seems like a temporary solution that will just cause problems later.

2. Some sort of plumber's putty or epoxy. Plumbers putty seems like it would disintegrate, but I don't know of an epoxy that wouldn't besides the caulk.

3. Some sort of porcelain glaze. This seems ideal, except - I'll just state that the toilet is yellow - making finding a color match a bit difficult, as well as previously expressed time and prevention concerns expressed above.

I have a window of opportunitity for 8 hours on saturday for drying time... so ideally any solution dries in that time frame or we'll be spending a lot of time in other people's bathrooms.

Home repair referrals in Minneapolis please.

Juicylicious — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:56:53 -0800

I need a referral to a plumber in Minneapolis who can do a good job replacing my 1930 toilet. Also need a roof repair, sidewalk, and tree removal. I'm home on leave and as usual I find my home in disrepair after two years away.

I own a 1930 tudor duplex with the original bathroom fixtures and tile (both wall and floor). It has the old wall-mounted toilet tank, which has a hairline crack and is leaking. I am going to look for a replacement tank tomorrow. If I cannot find one, I will have to replace the entire toilet. After doing some preliminary internet research it appears that plumbing has changed quite a bit in the last 80 years and any replacing can damage walls, floors and aesthetics.

I need a recommendation for an experienced Minneapolis/St. Paul plumber who can either replace the tank or install a new toilet and not turn my bathroom into a disaster zone.

My roof also sustained some damage due from the recent tornadoes. The insurer says the damage is not enough to exceed the deductible. Still it has to be repaired in spots. I need an honest roof person.

I have to put in a sidewalk around my house, going from the front steps around through the backyard to the garage. I was thinking of those poured concrete pieces that look like stones. It is a job that I am not prepared to do on my own.

And lastly, there is a large tree on the property line in front of my house that is beginning to grow into my wrought iron fence. It must be removed. I hold no hope of the owner of the other property taking care of the problem.

All of this has to be done in the next four weeks before I deploy once again for another year.

Kitchen drain maintenance?

exhilaration — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:35:21 -0800

How do I keep my kitchen drain from clogging? I already have a good strainer, but I keep getting these grease clogs. Is there some safe chemical or homemade concoction I can use on a regular basis? After living in my house for 4 years, my kitchen drain clogged, then again 6 months later (last week) - not a total clog, but like 30 minutes-to-drain slow. Drano etc. didn't work, neither did a snake - it went right through the gunk, I even rented a motorized one from Home Depot! What did work was this crazy, dangerous chemical (417841 on the Home Depot website) that I have to go into the basement, unscrew the pipe, and carefully pour in with a funnel and tube (wearing eye and hand protection). I let it work overnight and my drain is perfect in the morning. So I guess it's a grease clog - how can I keep it from coming back?

How hard is plumbing, really?

letahl — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:27:41 -0800

How do I go about installing plumbing in a cabin from scratch? I would like to install a bathroom in my currently bathroom-less cabin. I am having the septic (holding tank) put in with a stub up to the cabin. All relevant items (kitchen sink, bathroom sink, toilet, tub, water heater, pressure tank) will be along the same wall.

I got a quote from a plumber and nearly peed my pants. And not in a good way. It's about $3,500 to hook up those fixtures (not including the price of the fixtures). I basically don't have it, so I'm starting to consider other options.

I'm industrious. I've done construction, some electrical work, etc., but never plumbing. My question is, barring legal/permit issues, can I do it myself? If so, where do I start? Is there a book that will walk me through hooking up all my fixtures?

Here's my vision: I go to the hardware store and get a bunch of those PVC pipe dealies and some funny shaped ones for good measure. I put on a bandana, yank up the wood floor, and start plumbing, whatever that entails.

I'm more interested in answers that will tell me I can do it, and where to start, than those that say I can't. Although, a few "it's impossible"s may help motivate.

Thanks, MFs.

Clean pipes vs. leaky sink

swrittenb — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:41:37 -0800

What did I botch when reconnecting the pipes under my kitchen sink, causing them to start leaking? Picture included below, with the leak indicated. So, I pulled out the trusty auger to unclog a slow draining sink, and retrieved a bunch of gunk from the pipes. TMI? Anyway, I cleaned out a bunch of crud that had accumulated along the pipes as well, and reattached the pieces. In this picture, you can see the culprit - it's a p-trap that should just screw on to the next bit. Unfortunately now, there's a small leak right in the inside U. Have I not tightened it enough, or is it too tight? Is it not aligned properly? Is there a washer missing in there (don't think this is the case, but IANAP)?

Please help! My wife is angry that I'm doing dishes in the laundry sink downstairs! :(

Not a Card-Carrying Member of the Lollipop Guild

DMan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:34:03 -0800

Is there some sort of extension I can put on my shower head to make it sit higher on the wall? I recently moved into an apartment, and one complaint I have is that the showerhead is way too low--and I'm only 5' 8"! It makes showers annoying because I have to crane my neck to get my head under it.

Is there some kind of device I can screw into the showerhead pipe that will raise it a few inches? I'm aware of the existence of handheld showerheads, but I'd really like it to still be mounted, just a few inches higher than it is now. I'm picturing something like an S-shaped pipe that attaches to the showerhead on one end and the wall on the other.

Any ideas?

How do you find a good plumber?

Teira — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:40:34 -0800

How does one go about finding a good plumber anyway? So I've got this bathroom pedestal lav that's nearly completely borked. The cold tap doesn't turn off (so I keep having to switch it off at the source), the thing's come dislodged from the wall, and as a result of that, the drain pipe's come disconnected. I've tried to get in there myself but my basic knowledge of fit-pipe-A-into-pipe-B-and-pray-a-bit doesn't really seem to be doing anything. It's time for a plumber. Problem is, I'm absolutely terrified by all the plumber horror stories I've seen all over this site and others.

Anyone have some suggestions as to how I should go about my search, and what kinds of things I should be asking/looking for to ensure I don't get hosed?

Dual Flush Toilet

mccarty.tim — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:54:25 -0800

The latest issue of Good made me feel like I use water wastefully. Is it more cost/eco-effective to retrofit my existing toilets with a dual-flush kit, or should I go for a latest-gen low-flow dual flush toilet. All of the toilets in my house are first-generation (post EPA mandate) 1.6 GPF toilets, which work with varying success. The upstairs toilets, either due to design or a quirk in water pressure, rarely clog, while the downstairs toilet will often have issues with solid waste. These are issues we've dealt with for years, and I've replaced flappers and pumps as needed.

A quick Google search shows me that there are some kits available for retrofitting toilets to have a dual-flush option, but some looked a bit sketchy. Has anyone here tried one of them and had success?

If those are more trouble than they're worth, or too expensive considering my family may replace the toilets before we move out (probably will happen in about 2 years), what are some good latest-gen low flow dual-flush toilets? Is it easy enough for a novice to install a toilet, or should I hire a plumber?

What's the best way to go about replacing my kitchen sink and faucet?

aburd — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:13:32 -0800

What's the best way to go about replacing my kitchen sink and faucet? I have $1500-2000 that I can put towards a sink, faucet, and disposal. I also need the under sink plumbing worked over (there is a persistent leak). Should I source the whole thing piece by piece and then hire a plumber? Should I just get a plumber to sell me the whole thing? How do I know if I'm getting hosed? What's the best way to do this?

What is that strange acrid smell whle showering

srboisvert — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:58:18 -0800

My shower (an in-stall water heater) sometimes smells like something rubber is burning. It's a strong acrid smell that I only notice while in the shower and usually only after a sweaty workout. There is no sign of smoke like you would expect with burning rubber. Is this just some sort of weird sweat and treated water chemical reaction? Anybody heard of something like this?

Ghost faucet

cgs — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:29:11 -0800

Plumbing filter: When I'm running the shower, the cold water handle creeps up by itself until the water is tepid. How do I fix it? When they are off, both the hot and cold point down (90°). When I turn the cold on, it creeps up from 45° (just right) to horizontal (chilly). Do I need to replace a washer or something? Is this a landlord job?

Thanks for your help-
cgs

How to stop a drip from dripping?

tangyraspberry — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:39:44 -0800

how do you fix a leaky faucet?

Can I fix my lead pipes?

Midnight Skulker — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:35:45 -0800

Can I fix my lead plumbing? The plumber says, "No." I want to move my bathroom sink one foot to the right. I have taken out the wall, and found the hot and cold water supply pipes. They are galvanized, which I can deal with. The drain pipe is lead, however. It runs horizontally to a vertical lead pipe, which goes down to a cast iron bell on the floor and up to a galvanized vent pipe.

I don't wish to cut the lead pipe and then attach a new pipe, using a rubber sleeve, unless I can be sure that it will not leak in my wall. I guess that this means that I need a professional. The plumber I asked says that he has to rip out the old lead, in order to comply with regulations that require all lead pipes be removed during renovation. He also tells me that the porous nature of the lead means that the old pipe would not accept solder well, now that it has had 60 years worth of water and gunk in it.

(As an aside, when I took out the old wall, behind the sink, I found more than a thousand double edge razor blades. They had been dropped through that slot in the back of the medicine cabinet over the decades.)

What say you, about the DIY nature of lead plumbing, and the assertion that it all must go? I live in Houston, TX, and the house is over 60 years old.

Do I need a new roof?

amanda — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:51:44 -0800

In my second year of first-time home ownership and husband and I are thinking we need to do a little spring cleaning around the house. Other than a minor plumbing issue in the bathroom we have had (knock on wood) zero problems with the house. In an effort to keep up this track record, what trouble spots should we look for in the house? How do you know if the roof is in good shape? What are typical home maintenance needs? A little info.... Our house is a single-story 1950s cottage. The sewer line is only about 15 years old and was clean as a whistle when we scoped it two years ago. The roof looks pretty good from the ground but I don't really know what I'm looking at. We have a crawl space that is partially excavated to house the furnace and hot water heater. We have what we think is asbestos shingle siding. It has wood flooring throughout and still feels nicely solid. It's a pretty un-creaky house.

As we walk around, what should we look for? What are telltale signs that something must be done? I'm fairly handy so any advice on what can be done yourself verses calling the pros is welcome.

Sudden drop in water pressure on second floor

maudlin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:27:36 -0800

What can I do to investigate a sudden drop in water pressure (or flow) in the second floor only of my house before I call a plumber this Monday? I've already seen this question, but I bought this new two storey townhouse three years ago and all has been fine up until yesterday.

Basement and first floor pressure are fine in all sinks and the powder room toilet. But the second floor water sources have been weak since yesterday. The flow from the bathtub tap is markedly decreased, the sink is a little softer, too, and the toilet flush is definitely weak.

Given the sudden onset and localization, could this be a leak? (Oh, I really don't want to call a plumber out on a holiday weekend if I can help it, although I know that if this could be a leak, I should move fast). Or could a slowly building blockage show no signs until it just reached a critical point yesterday?

I didn't authorize this plumber.

puddleglum — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:00:47 -0800

I was recently out of the country on vacation. The tenants at my rental property had a plumbing emergency while I was unreachable, and I suspect they were taken advantage of. What options do I have? While I was on vacation, my tenants had a leak under the sink. Since they could not get a hold of me*, they called a plumber on their own. Unfortunately, they called the most disreputable plumber in town (based on online reviews and a bad experience of my own), and ended up paying $450 for the repair, which strikes me as fishy.

My tenant said that when he called the plumber, they initially said that they couldn't come out without my authorization as the landlord. My tenant said that if they didn't come, he would call another plumber and claim to be the landlord. The plumber called back 5 minutes later and said they'd left a message at my work number, (They hadn't.) and that they'd come out.

They came out, my tenant paid them in cash. My tenant also signed both a "Work Authorization" and a "Acceptance of Work Performed". Of course I'm not going to stiff my tenants on this, but I'm wondering if I have any recourse with the plumber based on the fact that they were not authorized to come out and do work without my permission, and they knew it, and they came anyway.

I suspect that the plumber will tell me that my only option is to take it up with the tenants, but I wanted to check in here to see if I could get some better information.

*I've learned my lesson. I'm going to provide my tenants with an alternate emergency contact, plus ensure that they know who my preferred plumber is.

How can A and B be connected if there's nothing to connect them?

pokeedog — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:58:21 -0800

When our pool equipment runs, it triggers the sound of a leaky pipe in a wall adjacent to our hot water heater. By triggering the valve on the hot water heater when the water to the house is off, I can stop the noise. How can I fix this? This is a very odd situation. So here's the detail:
1. House is slab foundation.
2. Pool equipment is outside kind of far from the hot water heater. No house plumbing connects to the pool equipment. The only common link between the pool equipment and rest of the house workings I can find is electricity, via a fuse box.
3. When the pool equipment goes on, it triggers the sound of a leaky pipe in the wall where the hot water heater is adjacent to. Minimal water appears on the floor after several hours on the hot water heater side of the wall, but no other water indicates any kind of leak.
4. If you turn off the water to the house at the street, the sound in the wall stops.
5. If you fiddle with the pressure release valve on the hot water heater while the water to the house is off, you stop the noise in the wall. Pool equipment must be off.
6. If you fiddle with the pressure release valve on the hot water heater while the water to the house is on, the noise doesn't stop.

We've had a plumber out, it's driving us a little crazy. These two things just don't seem connected. Am I grasping at straws? What other things should I check? It seems to coincidental to me, since the water system of the house isn't connected to the pool equipment.