Ask a Plumber Blog

This is a three part post that discusses toilet repairs, which for the most part, are relatively easy for the average homeowner to perform.

The main components are the fill valve, tank lever, and flapper. These parts are essential to the proper operation of the toilet. Today I will address replacing the fill valve.

Replacing the Fill Valve:

The replacement of the toilet’s fill valve is generally an easy task. The first step in the process is to secure the incoming water to the toilet tank. Once this is done, remove the tank lid, and put it in a safe place. Tank lids vary by manufacture and can prove to be costly when they are broken! Now, hold the tank lever down and open the flapper letting as much water exit the tank as possible.

Once the toilet tank has drained, remove the excess water with a sponge or shop-vac until the tank is dry. Next, remove the supply line from the fill valve. After the supply line is removed, remove the shank nut from the fill valve. Now you should be able to remove the fill valve from the tank.

There are a variety of different fill valves available. As a rule of thumb, take the fill valve you are replacing with you to your local hardware or home improvement center. An assistant should be able to provide you with an adequate replacement.

Yes, it is already that time of the year. We are beginning to prepare for sprinkler winterization here at askaplumber.com. Ron Turner, a Master Plumber and managing partner of askaplumber.com has been winterizing sprinkler systems in Colorado for the past 25 years. He has put together some tips and tricks that can prevent an expensive plumbing bill next spring.

Even if you have drained some water out of the system, the remaining water can freeze, expand and crack the PVC piping (rigid, white pipe), usually from fitting to fitting. Polyethylene pipe (flexible, black pipe) is used in many freezing climates. Although polyethylene pipe is more flexible and can expand under pressure, water left inside could freeze and rupture the pipe walls. Freezing water in the backflow assembly will damage the internal components and could possibly crack the brass body. It is recommended that a qualified licensed contractor perform this type of “winterization” method. Compressed air should not be blown through any backflow device.

Clogged drains with your appliances?  Yes it can happen. Your dishwasher has traps that can become clogged.

For your dishwasher, you can remove the drain port cover and thread a slim rod or auger down the drain pipe to clear the trap/pipe. You can also remove the trap and clear out the trap if you can get under your dishwasher. However, a clogged trap or pipe might not be the issue. Sometimes it is the drain solenoid that is malfunctioning. If this is the case it may be time to call in a professional. Another issue with dishwashers is the strainer inside the machine. This is located at the bottom of the dishwasher. You can lift out the strainer and clean out the ports in the sink. The strainer may be metal or plastic and usually is in two parts. To avoid a clogged strainer, you should rinse off your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher unless you have a dishwasher designed with a food disposer.

When is it time to throw in the towel and hire a plumber? The small project you are about to tackle so you can save a few bucks could cost you a bundle. Small jobs like replacing a washer in a faucet or clearing a clogged drain are projects that the knowledgeable home owner should be able to handle. When it comes to remodeling or repairing a broken pipe, you should leave it to the pros. A leak from a fitting that costs a couple of dollars can easily cause hundreds or thousands of dollars in water damage not to mention disrupting your household for days or weeks.  This could put your remodel project way off schedule.  So when it comes to hiring a plumber, make sure the plumber is licensed, insured, and a master plumber or a well-trained plumber, who is working under the master plumber’s license.
Plumbing isn’t always difficult, but it does take a lot of knowledge of the code, parts, and experience with the different types of materials. For instance, knowing how hard to turn a fitting so it doesn’t leak or worse yet, break.  This requires a lot of time to learn and a lot of practice not to mention patience.  Plumbing techniques can take several years to learn so don’t feel like you are inadequate for not knowing what to do.
Not all plumbers handle all types of plumbing issues.  Plumbers are grouped into two different categories.  One is an emergency or service plumber and the other is a remodeling or new construction plumber.  This is best to know which category they fit into prior to hiring them.  Most of the time you would not want a service plumber to build your new house or a new construction plumber to do emergency service work.  This is not true in all cases, but the labor prices can vary dramatically. A new construction plumber does not charge as much per hour as a service plumber.  The reason for this is that a new construction plumber comes to a job and will spend most of the day putting in up to eight hours if not more.  A service plumber is traveling from job to job driving through the city, putting a lot of wear and tear on the vehicle in addition to the paying for the rising cost of fuel.  Sometimes a service plumber puts in an eight to ten hour day, but is only able to charge for four or five due to the travel time and running for parts.  This is the reason you’re going to see a larger labor rate. The service plumber also carries many more tools and needs to be prepared for a plethora of situations.

These are a few of the many reasons people are turning to askaplumber.com. At askaplumber.com you can post any type of plumbing question in our forum, review our How To and FAQ sections, and review hundreds of previously posted questions and answers posted by other users.

Ron Turner,

Master Plumber and partner of AskAPlumber.com

Broomfield, CO (PRWEB) June 24, 2008 – Ask the Home Care Experts has recently completed its Web site, http://www.askaplumber.com, to promote the plumbing industry to businesses and homeowners. The Web site provides free plumbing advice to homeowners and delivers Web-based tools for plumbing industry businesses.

While plumbing advice is free when posted on the forum, Ask A Plumber provides subscription services for businesses to promote their products and services. Subscription services include: a directory with the ability to post coupons, options to publish banner advertisements on the Web site, and opportunities for businesses to post articles about their products and services. Ask A Plumber also provides tools to post classified ads and event listings on the Web site.

According to Ron Turner, a licensed master plumber and managing partner of Ask A Plumber, “More people are using their PCs and mobile devices to find solutions and are turning away from their paper phone directories. What we do at Ask A Plumber is provide plumbing advice and help homeowners with their plumbing issues by responding to their questions, writing how-to articles, and referring homeowners to businesses who post their products and services on our site.”

Providing plumbing advice is not new to the Internet. What is new is how Ask A Plumber delivers its services to homeowners and its ability to connect them to plumbers and plumbers to manufacturers of plumbing products all on one site. The costs built into the subscription-based services sustain the efforts to drive traffic to the Ask A Plumber Web site. The site also attracts visitors with How-To articles, blog posts, and responses to forum questions. Visitors interested in plumbing or looking for a solution to a plumbing problem have many options to choose from.

About Ask A Plumber:

Specializes in providing tools to promote your business—from listing your business to posting classified ads. Other available features enable you to post coupons, list business events, and publish articles about your product or service.

While you are in control of your own listing and content, we actively promote the Ask A Plumber Web site to Internet users.

Contact:
Ron Turner, Owner
Ask the Home Care Experts Inc.

http://www.askaplumber.com

Hands down, the most problematic plumbing issue homeowners face is a clogged drain. Many alternatives to calling a plumber are available by using products you may already have at home. This article provides some tips for you to follow for unclogging a drain and for preventing further clogs from forming. Please read our Clogged Drain article at http://www.askaplumber.com/downloads/how-to/Drain_Maintenance.pdf and browse through the many resources published on our site.

Need a fun project for the the spring? Build a bird house made out of PVC pipe and fittings. This little project is safe and easy for the kids to build and will last a life time. Download the instructions from the home page at Ask A Plumber.