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 gray well pump pressure switch with its cover removed showing the contacts and springs, mounted on a brass tank tee be
How-To

Well Pump Pressure Switch: Settings, Problems and Replacement

How a well pump pressure switch works, 30/50 vs 40/60 vs 50/70 settings, safe adjustment, failure signs, and…
A green plastic septic tank riser and lid installed at ground level in a lawn with freshly disturbed soil around it, day
How-To

Septic Tank Risers: Why Add Them and What They Cost

Septic tank risers bring buried lids to grade so you stop paying to dig at every pump-out. Sourced…
A clear glass of tap water beside a chrome faucet with white mineral scale crusted around the aerator, close view, soft
How-To

How to Test Water Hardness at Home

How to test water hardness at home: utility data, strips, drop kits, lab tests and the soap test…
A new chrome rain shower head being threaded onto a shower arm in a white tiled shower, white thread tape wrapped on the
How-To

How to Replace a Shower Head (Even a Stuck One)

How to replace a shower head: free a stuck head, wrap thread tape the right way, seal it…
A chrome lift-and-turn bathtub drain stopper unscrewed and resting beside the open drain of a white bathtub, a little ha
How-To

How to Remove a Bathtub Drain Stopper (Every Type)

How to remove a bathtub drain stopper of any type, from lift-and-turn and toe-touch to trip-lever and pop-up,…
A new white vessel-style bathroom sink and chrome faucet on a wood vanity top with the cabinet doors open showing a whit
How-To

How to Install a Bathroom Sink (Every Sink Type)

How to install a bathroom sink by type: drop-in, undermount, vessel, pedestal or wall-mount. Putty vs silicone, trap,…
A soil pipe snap cutter chain wrapped around a vertical black cast iron drain stack in a basement, a cleanly cut section
How-To

How to Cut Cast Iron Pipe: Snap Cutter, Sawzall, Grinder, or Hacksaw

How to cut cast iron pipe with a snap cutter, Sawzall, grinder, or hacksaw. Speed and cost compared,…
A black rubber shielded no-hub coupling with stainless steel band clamps joining an old black cast iron drain pipe to a
How-To

How to Connect PVC to Cast Iron

How to connect PVC to cast iron with shielded or transition couplings: OD sizing, 60 in-lb torque, code…
A laundry room standpipe overflowing soapy gray water onto a tile floor behind a white washing machine, the drain hose h
How-To

Washing Machine Drain Backing Up? Causes and Fixes

Washing machine drain backing up? Read where the water comes up and when, then fix the lint clog,…
A white toilet bowl with an unusually low water level well below normal, clean bathroom, soft natural light, no people,
How-To

Toilet Bowl Not Filling Up? Causes and Fixes

Toilet bowl not filling up? Tell a bowl problem from a tank problem, fix the refill tube, rim…