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.

Looking down into a basement sump pit with water flowing in from a drain tile opening around a submersible pump and its
How-To

Sump Pump Running Constantly? Causes and Fixes

Sump pump running constantly? Learn if water is really coming in or the pump won't shut off, how…
View under a kitchen sink cabinet showing a white PVC P-trap, a garbage disposal and a dishwasher drain hose, flashlight
How-To

Kitchen Sink Smells Like Sewer? Causes and Fixes

Kitchen sink smells like sewer? Use our 3-spot sniff test to find the source, then fix the disposal,…
A white porcelain bathroom sink with standing gray water around the drain and a chrome pop-up stopper lifted out beside
How-To

How to Unclog a Bathroom Sink (7 Fixes, Easiest First)

How to unclog a bathroom sink without chemicals: clean the stopper, use a Zip-It, plunge, pull the P-trap,…
A green garden hose attached to the brass drain valve at the base of a white tank water heater, running across a concret
How-To

How to Drain a Water Heater (Full Drain, Step by Step)

How to drain a water heater for replacement, repairs or a vacant home. Safe steps, drain times by…
A chrome kitchen faucet sputtering a broken, bubbly stream of water and air into a stainless sink, splashes caught mid-a
How-To

Air in Water Lines: Why Faucets Sputter and How to Fix It

Air in water lines makes faucets sputter. Find the cause on city or well water, bleed the lines…
Beads of condensation covering a cold copper water pipe running along a basement ceiling joist, droplets about to fall,
How-To

Why Are My Pipes Sweating?

Why are my pipes sweating? The pipe is colder than the air's dew point. See the dew point…
Close-up of condensation droplets running down the outside of a white porcelain toilet tank onto the tile floor, humid b
How-To

Toilet Tank Sweating: Why It Happens and How to Stop It

Toilet tank sweating soaks floors and rots subfloors. Why tanks condense, how to tell sweat from a leak,…
A chrome tub spout with its diverter pull-up knob, water pouring from the spout while a showerhead above drips, tiled tu
How-To

Shower Diverter Not Working? Causes and Fixes

Shower diverter not working? Identify your diverter type, stop water running from the tub spout, and fix it…
A tiled walk-in shower floor with darkened grout lines around the drain and a water stain on the drywall ceiling below v
How-To

Leaking Shower Pan: Signs, Tests and Repair Cost

Leaking shower pan? Spot the warning signs, run the 24-hour flood test and drain dye test, and see…
Under a bathroom vanity, a new chrome quarter-turn angle stop valve on a copper stub-out with a braided supply line atta
How-To

How to Replace a Shut-Off Valve Under a Sink

How to replace a shut off valve under sink: read your stub-out, pick compression, sweat, threaded or push-fit,…