plumbing

Fill Valve with Ball Float — I’ll admit it — I titled this post to attract homeowners who are searching for how to fix a leaky toilet. But wouldn’t it be even better if you could prevent your toilet from leaking in the first place? This article will help you do both! During this year’s Spring Break, our […]

Leaking Toilet? Try the $25 Toilet Tune-Up

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged angle stop DIY fill valve fix leaking toilet fix toilet flapper Fluidmaster Kohler Korky leaky toilet plumbing replace toilet toilet maintenance tune-up on April 12, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

My initial review of the KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit was positive… except for the part where the unit started to magically flush the toilet all by itself in the middle of the night. I called it the “phantom flush.” If you recall from my review, KOHLER promised to send me […]

Product Update: KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit Parts Upgrade

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged automatic flush Kohler phantom flush plumbing review toilet touchless toilet flush kit on March 29, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3555 days ago)

Something had been bothering me at the Utah house for a few years, so I finally got around to doing something about it this week. Take a peek at the photo below and see if you can find it: If nothing in the above photo bothers you, then move along… this blog […]

Upgrade your Bath Tub Trim – Fast, Easy, and Cheap

This entry was posted in DIY Videos and tagged DIY drain plug plumbing replace bath tub drain tub hardware tub trim WATCO on March 23, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

Hydrogen sulfide gas smells like rotten eggs — If your hot water smells like rotten eggs, don’t panic. It’s almost certainly something you can fix on your own, and there are a few different ways you can try to fix it. First, to make sure your hot water heater is the source (and that this is the blog post you’re […]

How to Fix Rotten Egg Smell in your Water

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged plumbing rotten egg smell smelly water sulfur smell water water water heater on February 20, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 2402 days ago)

Remember when you were a little kid, and your mother would take you to the supermarket, and as you approached the glass doors you’d wave your hand at them… causing them to open… with… The Force? It was almost like magic! Sure, deep down you probably knew there was some kind […]

Product Review: KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged automatic flush Kohler plumbing review toilet touchless toilet flush kit on November 26, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3555 days ago)

New fittings installed in minutes — If you’ve read any of my previous plumbing DIY posts, you know I’m a fan of SharkBite slip-fittings. Yes, they’re more expensive than standard copper or CPVC fittings, but their primary benefit is how easy they are to install… and remove for re-use or reconfiguration. Normally, you don’t have to remove plumbing fittings […]

DIY: SharkBite Fittings Make Adding a Check Valve Easy

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged check valve hot water tank plumbing SharkBite water heater on June 2, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3855 days ago)

Insulation tubing around the recirculating pump return line and drain — I little over a year ago, I made my very first plumbing-related blog post: a report on how I learned I should flush my water heater to eliminate rust-colored water, and should replace its anode when it’s fully eroded. Since that first post, I’ve enjoyed progressively attempting more complex DIY plumbing […]

How to Replace Your Water Heater

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged anode Bradford White DIY hot water heater how to plumbing replace water heater Rheem Ruud water heater on January 18, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3158 days ago)

After installing insulating foam. — As we wrap up our Holiday vacation here at the Utah house, I’ve been tinkering with some home improvement projects (part of how I relax on vacation really is by fixing stuff). So today, I did two quick, cheap, and simple projects today to reduce the energy use of our […]

Two Cheap and Easy Water Heater Money Saving Tips

This entry was posted in DIY Reference and tagged DIY foam insulation tubes insulation plumbing save money water heater series water heater on January 4, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3991 days ago)

Hot water feed to humidifier connected! — The climate in Utah is particularly arid, both in the summer and the winter, and so I had my builder install a Lennox whole-house humidifier as part of our HVAC system in the Utah house. It helps keep us feeling comfortable at lower temperatures, meaning we save money on heating. […]

Installing a Water Pressure Gauge and Hot Water Feed to ...

This entry was posted in DIY Reference and tagged DIY ecobee hot water how to connect humidifier humidifier plumbing whole house humidifier on January 4, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3991 days ago)

This setting lets your Ecobee run the humidifier during heat, cool, or with the fan only. — In my original review of my very first Ecobee Smart Thermostat, I described how I had wired my Ecobee’s equipment interface to my whole-house evaporative humidifier at the Utah house. Because my furnace’s control board had a 24V HUM connector, I used that connector to help activate the humidifier. The […]

How to Wire a Humidifier to an Ecobee Smart Thermostat

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Reference Technology and tagged DIY ecobee how to how to wire humidifier to ecobee humidifier plumbing wiring on December 31, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3991 days ago)

Small opening at the top of the faucet's trim — Some of my previous posts might make it sound like I’m bagging on plumbers. I’m not. I love plumbers! They bring drinking water and hot showers to my house, and take the poop away. But I will bag on plumbers (or any other “professionals”) when they do stuff wrong — […]

Is Your Shower’s Trim Ring Draining Properly?

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged DIY drain hole faucet Kohler plumbing shower trim on December 13, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3991 days ago)

No pressure from hot water expansion tank — I’ve been on a plumbing DIY kick lately, and after recently replacing a hot water recirculating pump that had been installed incorrectly (upside-down!) by a professional plumber, I’ve been reminded that it’s never a bad idea to periodically test things inside your own house — even if they were installed […]

Testing and Replacing a Hot Water Expansion Tank

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged Amtrol DIY hot water expansion tank plumbing Therm X Trol thermal expansion water hammer water heater Watts on December 11, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 4028 days ago)

It’s 10PM. I get a text from our son (whose bedroom is in the basement) saying that he just got out of the shower and the water was barely warm, and now he’s hearing a “hissing” sound coming from the utility room across the hall from his bedroom… where the […]

How To: Repair a Leaking Hot Water Tank Temperature Pressure ...

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged fix leaking TPR valve hot water heater hot water tank hot water tank leak plumbing pressure relief valve Repair repair hot water tank temperature pressure relief valve tpr valve Watts on November 15, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3826 days ago)

Water was pooling under our “backup” fridge in my garage, and so I figured something must broken with its refrigeration. However, when I pulled the fridge away from the wall to check things out, I discovered that the source of the water wasn’t the fridge… it was the shower faucet […]

Rave: Turns out Moen’s Customer Service is Just as Good ...

This entry was posted in DIY Rants and Raves and tagged 1225 customer service Kohler leak Moen plumbing replacement on November 11, 2013 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3826 days ago)

InSinkErator SST Instant Hot Water Dispenser — An undersink instant hot water dispenser (like my InSinkErator SST) is one of those kitchen luxuries you may not think you need until you get one… after which, you’ll never know what you did without it. But after a few years, I noticed that it was taking longer and longer […]

DIY: Instant Hot Water Heater with Low Flow? Fix it ...

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged DIY InSinkErator insta-hot instant hot water low flow not working plumbing on December 16, 2012 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3991 days ago)

Standard Gas Hot Water Header — I’m not proud to admit that this DIY project is something I put off for way too long, and I feel stupid because it’s one of the easiest things you can do to save money every month, while prolonging the life of your gas or electric water heater: flushing the […]

DIY: Flush Your Water Heater and Check/Replace Your Anode

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged aluminum anode flush flush hot water heater flush hot water tank flush water heater hot water heater hot water tank magnesium plumbing replace anode rust zinc on November 28, 2012 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3279 days ago)