There are many water spill or flood detectors on the market; some hard wired, some battery operated, some free standing, some tied to central alarm systems. The battery operated models are quite mobile and good for seasonal tasks like spring flooding or specific tasks like the bathtub overflowin...
(See non-toxic cleaners in the last paragraph, and Do Rust Cleaners Work?)
RUST ON RUGS
There has always been one basic chemical available for getting rust off about anything and that was Oxalic Acid. That was the active ingredient in the old petroleum jelly that we used to clean the rust off o...
Lynn from Cambridge, Ontario asked about a horrible rattling sound in their plumbing pipes when someone is using the outside hose bib and someone flushes a toilet. Only when those two things happen at the same time. What is it?
Actually it is quite simple and you can understand it best if you bl...
Evert from Brownsburg, Quebec has the problem of a sewer odour in his bathroom but isn't sure where it is coming from and whether or not he needs to change his toilet.
It can in fact be difficult to localize the source of sewage odours and hence which fixture or drain is guilty.
One technique ...
When plumbing pipes and chimneys have to go through sloped roofs, they are always cut fairly large just to make sure that the pipe will pass through. The problem is that a 3 inch round pipe needs an oval hole in a sloped roof. There is an easy trick for drawing out the hole.
Hold the p...
Al wants to know how to clean out a vent stack.
Most people never clean out their vent stack -- it just doesn't need it.
However some people do get birds nests in there, or clogs that for some reason are difficult to reach through the regular plumbing branches. You can run a plumbing snake into...
I have had several letters recently about bad smells and even flies coming up out of basement floor drains and sump pump pits. One viewer was quoted hundreds of dollars to break up the entire basement and replace all the sewer lines.
The real problem is usually that the trap under the floor has ...
Every few years I need to update this "innovations" entry as things just keep getting better. Not all "gadgets" to save water work, and not all toilets actually flush clean. For details on the comparative performance of low flow toilets that do work, check out the MaP rating system, which is be...
Karen from Kingston, Ontario writes: "We have a washing machine on the second floor and have noticed the water from previous cycles does not always seem to drain completely away, as evidenced by a smell of grey water when the machine begins it's next cycle. Our upstairs plumbing is well vented wi...
Geoff lives in Newfoundland and is frustrated that he has condensation on his toilet tank every spring despite the fact that it is insulated.
Well Geoff, the fact that you live in Newfoundland helps to answer the mystery. Any time you see condensation, on a toilet tank, a window or a beer mug, i...
