Tag
Unclogging drains
8 articles
ArticleWhy Are My Drains Gurgling? Causes (Partial Blockage, Blocked Vent, Air Admittance Valve, Trap Siphonage, Sewer or Septic Backup) and Step-by-Step FixesA client calls: "Every time the toilet upstairs flushes, the bathroom basin goes glug-glug ." Another says the floor drain bubbles and gurgles whenever the washing machine empties.…
ArticleWhat tools does a residential plumber need? The basic kit for cutting and joining pipe, tightening threads, clearing blockages and testing, and how to use it safelyNew plumbers working with a team often run into this: they arrive at a client’s home to fix a leaking tap, open the tool bag and only then discover there is no PTFE tape, the adjus…
ArticleBlocked roof gutters, box gutters and rainwater downpipes overflowing in heavy rain: inspection, safe clearing on the roof and preventing re-blockageTen minutes into a heavy downpour, water is already spilling over the edge of the gutter and running in streams down the wall; in some houses it even seeps through the plasterboard…
ArticleBlocked bathroom floor drain and standing water: 7 steps to clear the floor drain and waste pipe of hair and soap scum"After a shower the water sits around the floor drain for ten minutes before it goes down, and some days it smells." This is a call plumbers get very often. The most common cause i…
ArticleKitchen sink blocked or draining slowly because of grease: 7 steps to clear a kitchen drain and how to install an under-sink grease trap“My kitchen sink has been draining slowly all week, and now one whole bowl is full of standing water and smells sour.” “When I drain this bowl, water bubbles up in the other one.”…
ArticleBlocked toilet, water rising when flushed: 7 steps to clear it, from plunger to toilet auger, without breaking anything“When I flush my toilet, the water rises almost to the rim and drains very slowly.” “My child dropped a toy into the toilet and now it won't flush.” A blocked toilet is an urgent c…
ArticleFull septic tank: warning signs, opening the lid safely for inspection, telling it apart from a blocked pipe, and when it needs pumping"For the past few days the toilet has been draining slowly and gurgling, and the back yard stinks." Many young plumbers immediately bring a plunger to unblock the toilet, and two d…
ArticleFixing a dripping faucet and unclogging a bathroom sink without breaking tilesA dripping faucet and a slow-draining bathroom sink are the smallest jobs in plumbing, yet they are the ones you will be called for most often. Doing them quickly, cleanly and with…