Tuesday, November 3, 2026
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The Plumbing Brief
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The Plumbing Brief

How-To

Step-by-step plumbing guides: how to fix, install, unclog, and maintain the plumbing in your home, and when a job calls for a licensed plumber.

A single-handle kitchen faucet with the handle removed exposing the cartridge, a new cartridge resting on a towel on the
How-To

Kitchen Faucet Cartridge Replacement: Find the Part Number and Swap It

Kitchen faucet cartridge replacement by brand: Moen 1225 or Duralast, Delta RP50587, Kohler, Pfister part numbers, 2026 prices,…
A drum-style drain cleaning machine on a basement floor with its steel cable fed into an open white PVC sewer cleanout,
How-To

How to Snake a Main Sewer Line Through the Cleanout

How to snake a main sewer line through the cleanout: K-750 manual rules, 5/8 or 3/4 in cable,…
A new chrome single-handle bathroom faucet installed on a white vanity sink with the cabinet door open showing braided s
How-To

How to Replace a Bathroom Faucet (Hole Spacing, Steps, Specs)

How to replace a bathroom faucet: match 1, 4 in or 8 in holes, remove seized nuts, set…
A brass bell-shaped pressure reducing valve installed on a copper main water line just after the main shutoff valve in a
How-To

How to Install a Pressure Reducing Valve (Code, Specs, Setting, Cost)

How to install a pressure reducing valve: when code requires one, Watts, Zurn and Cash Acme specs, cut-in…
Close view inside a toilet tank of a chrome trip lever handle, its mounting nut and the lift arm with a chain to the fla
How-To

How to Fix a Loose Toilet Handle (Reverse-Thread Nut, Chain and Replacement)

How to fix a loose toilet handle: tighten the reverse-threaded nut counterclockwise, set 1/2 inch of chain slack,…
A small blue thermal expansion tank mounted on the cold water line above a water heater, its air valve cap removed, copp
How-To

How to Check Expansion Tank Pressure (and Tell if the Tank Is Bad)

How to check expansion tank pressure with a tire gauge, the right pre-charge setting, two tests for a…
Inside an open toilet tank at night lit by a single flashlight beam, water trickling past a worn red flapper into the fl
How-To

Ghost Flushing Toilet: Why It Refills by Itself

Ghost flushing toilet? Run the 10-minute EPA dye test, find the leak by where the water stops, and…
A plain white plastic and brass shower valve cartridge resting on a folded towel beside a removed chrome single-handle s
How-To

Delta Shower Cartridge Replacement: Which Cartridge and How

Delta shower cartridge replacement by valve series: RP46074, RP19804 or RP32104, how to pull it, set the limit…
Close view of a three-valve copper bypass loop with brass ball valves where a water softener connects on a basement wall
How-To

Water Softener Bypass Valve: How to Use It and When

Water softener bypass valve guide: push-pull, Clack two-handle, Fleck and three-valve loops, how to read the position, when…
Close view of a copper thermocouple tube and a small blue pilot flame inside the open burner access of a gas water heate
How-To

Water Heater Thermocouple Replacement: Steps, Cost and Signs

Water heater thermocouple replacement in 8 steps: the 18 mV test, the right length, the 1/4 turn rule,…