I have had several folks ask about using a closet auger to unclog a toilet so I thought I would make a short set of instructions to follow

Here they are:

- You pull the handle all the way out on the closet auger

- Stick the business end of the auger into the toilet as far as it will go.

- Now just push the handle down as far as it will go without cranking it, even if it only goes a little.

- Now, hold the crank handle in one hand and grab the auger shaft at a comfortable distance below the crank handle. (Most people try to hold the bottom handle on the tube, but it is very hard to get the right leverage this way)

- Now, crank the handle while just holding the shaft steady with your other hand loosely so the shaft can spin inside your grip.

- Push down on the handle while cranking- hard if you have to. Don’t worry if the bottom wobbles around a little, just concentrate on getting the auger to go down.

- If you can get the handle to go all the way down you are doing great. Now just pull the cable straight back out, don’t worry about cranking it. You may have to pull pretty hard.

- Once this is done, I like to run it through all the way at least one more time just to be sure.

- now try flushing the toilet, first with just water and then with a big wad of toilet paper.

- If it flushed OK now you are done. If not, check out this post on how to pull and reset a toilet:

http://www.basicplumbingrepair.com/blog/33/toy-in-the-toilet-heres-the-old-school-solution-part-2-of-2/

I hope this helps. How about letting me know how everything goes.

Thanks,

Bryan

Technorati Tags: Business End, Crank Handle, Leverage, Old School, People, School Solution, Shaft, Toilet Paper, Wad, Wobbles, Worry

Fluoride and fluoridation of drinking water has been in the news a lot lately. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the whole issue and I guess it’s time for me to put my two cents worth in. I try to keep this site focused on “Do-It-Yourself” topics, but I decided to write this article based on a couple of things.

One, I have been doing a lot of research on water quality and water filters for my new book (more on that later) and I really thought you should know this stuff.  Two, I just read an article in my local paper that the Water Authority that supplies my tap water just raised the level of fluoride in my water and it got me a little riled up.

So, why all the fuss about fluoride? Isn’t it supposed to be good for our teeth? What’s the big deal? In this post I’ll try to sum up my opinion based on the research I’ve been doing.

First, I might as well come right out and say it. I thing it is WRONG to put fluoride in drinking water. Whether or not it is as bad for you as some people claim, the fact is that it is the only chemical added to our tap water in order to do something other than make the water safe to drink. And yes, I said chemical. (More on that in a minute.)

Fluoridation basically amounts to forced involuntary medication of entire communities with a substance that is known to be toxic at certain levels. Listen to what one dentist was quoted as saying in my local paper (emphasis is mine): “You’re not getting harmed by it more than the other chemicals and things found in the water.” Am I the only one who thinks that is a pretty strange endorsement?

Which brings me to the “chemical” comment. See, while many supporters of fluoridation will say that fluoride is a natural component of lots of water, the reality is that almost all of the fluoride that is added to tap water is an industrial waste product from the fertilizer industry. The most widely one is fluorosilic acid or FSA. FSA is recovered from smokestack scrubbers and sold to municipalities across the United Stated to fluoridate their drinking water. Smokestack scrubbers!

If that’s not enough to make you question the practice of fluoridation, consider this. Many studies are now concluding that any benefits that might come form fluoride are from topical use, not ingestion. In fact, this was just one of the reasons the EPA Headquarters Professional’s Union came out with a statement opposing fluoridation as early as 1999. This group is made up of about 1500 scientists, engineers, lawyers and other professionals who work at the EPA headquarters in Washington, DC.

I could go on and on but I’ll try to wind this up soon. One other thing to be aware of is that there is a lot of research now that questions whether fluoridated drinking water has any positive benefit for dental health.  Studies comparing dental health in areas with and without fluoridation are frequently showing little or no difference.  In fact, most of Europe does not fluoridate their water and their statistics on tooth decay are about the same as the US.

Bottom line- in my opinion there are enough concerns about possible health issues with fluoridation to really tick me off when I read that my local water authority is not only adding a know toxin to my water but has now increased the level.  I mean, SMOKESTACK SCRUBBERS for Pete’s sake!

OK, I’m done ranting for now.  If you want to learn more about fluoridation there are many other sites filled with well documented information.  I just wanted to make sure you, as a reader of this blog, are informed about any plumbing issue I think affects your family’s health.

Oh, one more thing.  I mentioned I have a new book and I want to give it a brief plug.  For the last few years I have had more and more clients ask me about water filters so I figured I had better learn all I could about the subject.  I did a lot of research and decided to write a short book (a little over 50 pages) on what I learned.  Its called “Are You Really Going To Drink That?  (Why You Need A Water Filter and How To Choose The Right One)”.  You can check it out here or by clicking on the picture of the book.

Next time I plan to be back to talking about hands on type subjects but I really felt like you needed to hear this.  Thanks for listening (or really reading, I guess).

Bryan Stevens

Copyright 2011

Technorati Tags: Chemicals, Controversy, Dentist, Endorsement, Fears, Fertilizer, Fertilizer Industry, floride, flouride, Fluoridation Of Drinking Water, Fluoride In Drinking Water, Fsa, Fuss, Medication, Municipalities, Natural Component, People, Riled, Smokestack Scrubbers, Tap Water, Teeth, Two Cents, Waste Product, Water Authority, Water Filters, Water Quality

A common plumbing repair is unclogging a shower drain. In this video I show you how to unclog your shower drain using a tool called a Closet Auger.

A Closet Auger is usually used to unclog a toilet, but it is a pretty versatile tool. The one I’m using in the video is an “extension” model.   You can find a good one at your local Home Depot, Lowe’s or other hardware stores.

The good thing about an “extension” model is that there is extra cable in the handle portion that can be extended to increase the reach of the auger. These types cost around $30-$40 but are worth the extra few bucks.

Closet augers are simple to use. You just pull the handle all the way out, stick the “business end” in whatever you want to unclog and push the handle down while cranking the handle. (Tip: Don’t try to hold the handle on the bottom part while cranking, this is too awkward.  Just loosely hole the handle part under the crank portion so you can keep everything lined up.)  This pushes the snake cable into the drain. The cranking motion helps the auger at the end grab whatever is causing the clog. 

When you have the cable all the way in, just pull it all the way back. You may have to pull sharply but it will come out. Most likely, whatever was causing the clog will be wrapped up at the end of the auger. Get it off, using pliers or some other tool if necessary (or your foot).  If you have an extension auger it doesn’t hurt to run it through again, this time extending the cable. When you are finished you should have fixed the clog.

Here’s the video so you can see what I mean:

.                                    .

I hope that helps.

Bryan Stevens

Copyright 2010

Technorati Tags: Augers, Business End, clear blocked drain, clogged drain, clogged shower, closet auger, Crank, drain cable, drain snake, Grab, Hardware Stores, Home Depot, Lowe S, Pliers, Plumbing Repair, Shower Drain, Shower Plumbing, Snake Cable, Toilet, unclog a shower, unclog drain, Versatile Tool

Technorati Tags: Anode Rod, Anode Rods, Dissimilar Metals, Electrolysis, Hot Water Heater, Hot Water Heater Repair, Leaking Water Heater, New Water, Quality Temperature, Reactivity, Sacrificial Anode, Several Factors, Steel Tanks, Tank Leaks, Usage Patterns, Vitreous Glass, Water Heater Manufacturers, Water Heater Problems, Water Heater Repair, Water Heaters

Dealing With Leaks

Of all the problems that can occur in your plumbing system, none have the potential to be as costly as a good, old fashioned plumbing leak. From a leaking water heater to a toilet leak, big or little, fast or slow, leaks cause millions of dollars in damage every year.

Plumbing leaks come in two varieties, water supply leaks and drain leaks. Although water pipe leak can do more damage faster, a leaking drain (or any kind of leak) should not be ignored. Just look at the Grand Canyon to see what water can do.

Drain Leaks

A leaking drain my be a toilet leak,  a sink leak or any other leak on the drainage system. It will often show up as a spot on the ceiling below.

If you see a water spot on your ceiling, check directly above for a leak. If you find nothing there check under all the fixtures and in every vanity. Often water will run across a ceiling and show up in a seam or low spot.

It’s a good idea to check under all your cabinets periodically for leaks. If you find a problem you can often correct a small leak by just tightening the slip joint connections in the piping. If you have leaking metal p-traps you can probably change them to PVC for less than the price of a happy meal.

Leaks From Fixtures

Another common plumbing problem is leaks from individual fixtures. These vary from refrigerator water filter leaks to leaking kitchen faucets. Most of the time there are individual fixture stops, or valves, which turn the water off to that fixture only. If so, this allows you to stop the water leak and still have water to the rest of the house.

When you are checking under your cabinets pay careful attention to the stops and to the supply lines going to your faucets. These are prime places for leaks. Use your hands to feel for water on these since it is often hard to see a very small leak.

The Most Urgent Leaks

The most urgent kind of leak is a leak on the main water supply piping in your home. That’s why it is very important to know where your main water shut off is located and how to turn it off. If you have a supply pipe leak, getting the water turned off quickly can prevent thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Galvanized Pipe Is Especially Tricky

Once the water is off you can begin to try to determine what the problem is. If you have an older house you may have galvanized pipe leaks. These are especially tricky because when you fix one you may cause another by disturbing the old pipe.

Nails Don’t Always Leak Right Away

A fairly common cause of leaks in copper piping is a nail in the pipe. Many times these leaks will not show up for quite some time, however long it takes the nail to rust away. Always be very careful when installing baseboard or other trim.

Working With Plastic Pipe

While leaks in galvanized or even copper pipes require special skills and tools, plastic piping is fairly easily repaired. You need to be sure what kind of pipe you have because different types of pipe use different glues and cements. Pay close attention to the curing times for the cement so your fresh repair doesn’t blow apart when you turn the water back on.

Some plastic pipe, like PEX, can’t be glued and must be joined using special fittings. The pros usually use barbed fittings with crimp rings and special crimping tools but there is a fairly new product that you can use called a shark bite fitting. Unlike its namesake, a plumbing shark bite type fitting is a good thing.

Shark Bite Fittings

These plumbing shark bite fittings just push on to the pipe. No tools or special skills required! The only time you need a tool is to remove them. What’s so really good about these plumbing shark bite fittings is that they actually work very well and are used by many professional plumbers every day.

So…we’ve learned that all plumbing leaks are not a reason for alarm. Many are simple to fix with easily learned skills.

Copyright 2009 Bryan Stevens

Technorati Tags: Careful Attention, Drainage System, fix leaks, Happy Meal, Kitchen Faucets, leaking drain, leaking pipes, leaking sink, Leaking Water Heater, Leaks, P Traps, Pipe Leak, Plumbing Fixtures, Plumbing Leak, Plumbing Leaks, Plumbing Problem, Plumbing System, Prime Places, Refrigerator Water Filter, Shower Drains, Slow Leaks, Toilet Leak, water heater leak, Water Leak, Water Leaks, Water Pipe, Water Spot, Water Supply Piping

Today you’re about to learn how to solve a very common problem, how to fix a leaking Moen kitchen faucet.  Whether the faucet is leaking at the handle or just not shutting off the solution is the same, replace the cartridge.  As a bonus, this also works with many bathroom faucets too.

Moen faucets use a “cartridge” instead of “old fashioned” washers.  This means that all the “working parts” are rolled into one simple cartridge.  So if the faucet won’t shut off, or is leaking around the handle, the first thing to check is the cartridge.  That is the most  common type of Moen kitchen faucet repair.

There are a couple of things you want to do when replacing a cartridge.

First, make sure the water is turned off to the faucet.  You can usually turn the water off right under the sink in the cabinet.  After you’ve turned the valves off just try the faucet to make sure it’s off, otherwise you might find yourself in a scene from a sitcom…with water hitting the ceiling.

Then just start taking the handle off, paying attention to how everything is put together.  When you get everything removed down to the cartridge, remove the little horseshoe shaped clip and pull the cartridge out.  You may have to use a little force if it has any age on it.  Actually, all new cartridges come with a little plastic tool that can help remove the old one.  Just use the tool to spin the cartridge in the brass valve body so it will be easier to pull out.

The one thing to watch out for when installing the new cartridge is to make sure you install it with the little notch on the end of the stem in the same direction as the old one.  When you see the cartridge this will make sense.  This will make sure that the hot and cold are not reversed.  If you aren’t sure what I mean don’t worry, once you get the water back on you can fix it easily if it’s reversed.

When you get the new cartridge pushed in place, make sure the little tabs on top are lined up so the horseshoe clip will go back in place.  This is very important because that little clip is all that keeps the faucet from becoming a fountain.

Now, with the cartridge and clip in place, but before you put everything else back together, turn the water back on.  Pull the brass stem in the center up to open the faucet and then twist to go from cold to hot.  Visualize which way the stem will need to turn once the handle is installed to get hot water and make sure it’s correct.  If not, turn the center stem 180 degrees and that should fix it.  Just as a reference, from center most kitchen faucets will turn 90 degrees clockwise to get hot water.

Now that you’ve checked out the hot and cold directions and fixed it if needed, put everything else back in the order it came off.  Make sure it all works when you’re finished and, if so, give yourself a pat on the back. You now know how to fix a leaky faucet.

One last thing, Moen advertises their faucets as “guaranteed for life”, so you might be able to get a free cartridge if your faucet leaks.  There are probably some conditions so you will need to check for details.  You can call Moen at 1-800-289-6636 in the USA, and 1-800-465-6130 in Canada and find out if you are covered.

I hope this has helped.  If you have any specific requests for new videos or information, leave a comment and I’ll try to make it happen.

You Can Do It!

Bryan Stevens

Technorati Tags: Bathroom Faucets, Bonus, Brass Valve, Faucet Kitchen, Horses, How To Fix A Leaking Faucet, How To Fix A Leaky Faucet, Kitchen Faucet Repair, Leaking Faucet, Little Notch, Moen Faucet, Moen Faucets, Moen Kitchen Faucet, Paying Attention, Plastic Tool, Same Direction, Sitcom, Spin, Tabs, Valve Body, Washers

If you’ve got a toy stuck in the toilet (or anything else), and you have tried a closet auger with no success, the next step is to pull the toilet.  This isn’t as hard as you may think as long as you follow these step by step instructions.

By the way, if you haven’t already read it, you may want to checkout Part 1 of this lesson before you go much further:

http://www.basicplumbingrepair.com/blog/32/toys-in-the-toilet-heres-how-to-get-them-out-part-1-of-2/

Before you get started you need to have a few supplies.  Here’s what you need: a new wax ring (you can get one at any hardware store), an adjustable wrench, a putty knife, a pair of needle nose pliers, a pair of Channel Lock type pliers, a flashlight.  It might also be helpful to get a small inspection mirror from an auto parts store, but you may not need this.

OK let’s get started:

-Plunge the toilet and flush a few times to clean it out. Be patient, if there is a lot of toilet paper blocking the toilet you may need to plunge and flush for a little while to get the gross stuff out. (Sometimes, even after lots of plunging his may not be possible depending on the size and shape of the toy. If not, this is going to be ugly.)

-Turn the water off to the toilet

-Flush the toilet and hold the handle down to get all the water possible out of the tank

-Plunge the bowl to get as much water out as possible.  If this isn’t possible just go to the next step

-Get some rubber gloves and a sponge and soak the rest of the water out of the tank and bowl. (If you weren’t able to plunge the bowl clear this will be the worst part of the whole job.)

-Disconnect the water line where it connects to the tank.

-Pop off the plastic bolt covers with a putty knife (if there are covers).  Pay attention to how amy washers and spacers arte situated.

-Remove the nuts (pay attention to how any washers are situated).

-Rock the toilet back and forth a little and pull it up and off the floor.

-Now lean the toilet back onto the tank (carefully) so you can see inside the bottom.

-If you can see the toy, try to remove it.  Your needle nose or Channel Lock pliers might come in handy here.

-If you can’t get it out try using a closet auger to push it backwards from the bottom. If you don’t know what a closet auger is, it’s a special tool to unclog toilets.  You can get one at most hardware stores.

-Sometimes, if you can’t see what’s blocking the toilet, it helps to use a little mirror to look up inside the toilet (you can get one at the auto parts store)

-Once you get the toy (or whatever) out, scrape all the old wax off both the bowl and the floor flange with your putty knife.

-Put a new wax ring down and carefully replace the toilet, making sure to get the bolts lined up.

_Push the toilet down with a slightly twisting motion to squeeze the wax until it rests solidly on the floor.

-Now put the nuts and washers back the way they were. Be careful to tighten the nuts evenly and slowly so you don’t crack the china

-Next, connect the water back up and test everything for leaks.

_Flush some wadded up toilet paper through a few times to make sure everything works.

-Finally, pat yourself on the back, you just saved a good bit of money.

Technorati Tags: Adjustable Wrench, Auto Parts Store, Channel Lock Pliers, clogged toilet, closet auger, Flashlight, Gross Stuff, Hardware Store, Inspection Mirror, Needle Nose Pliers, Plastic Bolt, Plunge, Putty Knife, Rubber Gloves, School Solution, something stuck in the toilet, Spacers, Sponge, Toilet Flush, Toilet Paper, Toilet Tank, toy in the toilet, toy stuck in toilet, unclog a toilet, Washers, Water Line, Wax Ring

If you have a clogged toilet and have kids, you just might have a toy stuck in your toilet. This can be a tricky problem to solve because just using a plunger usually won’t work.  The solution is to get the toy out of the toilet and one way to do that is with a tool called a “closet auger”.

In over 20 years as a Licensed Plumber I have seen a lot of clogged toilets because a toy was dropped in the toilet.  Sometimes you know what the problem is and sometimes you just know the toilet is plugged up and won’t flush.

If you aren’t sure what is causing the clog, plunge the toilet until it will flush several times with just water.  Then wad up some toilet paper and try to flush it.  Don’t go crazy but use enough paper so if there is something stuck in the bowl it will catch the paper and clog up.

If the toilet stops up now there may be something stuck in the bowl.  At this point the process is pretty much the same whether you have a toy in the toilet or anything else that doesn’t belong there.  You’ve got to remove whatever is causing the clogged toilet.

There are two basic ways to remove a toy or other object from a clogged toilet.  The first, an easiest way is to try to pull it back out the same way it went in.  To do this you need a tool called a closet auger.

A Closet Auger is a special tool consisting of a steel cable inside a tubular handle.  One end of the tube is bent and covered with something to help prevent scratches in the toilet bowl.  The cable has a sort of hook on one end and a crank type handle on the other end.

The way to use a closet auger is to insert the “business” end into the toilet bowl outlet and push the cable down while cranking.  But there is a special trick you need to do if you think something like a toy is stuck in your toilet.

First, take a pair of pliers and separate the very last turn at the end of the cable so that the “hook” is bigger and will have a better chance of grabbing whatever is in the toilet.  Then, when you run the auger through the bowl, stop feeding the cable in as soon as it looks like you have enough cable in to reach through the drain passage in the toilet and you start feeling some resistance.  Now just crank it a few times and them pull the cable out while maintaining the pressure on the crank.  The idea is to snag whatever is stuck and pull it out.

If you have successfully snagged the toy or whatever else is causing the clogged toilet, you should be able to pull it back out through the toilet bowl.  You may need to keep slowly cranking the handle while you pull the cable back to keep the object snagged.  Just keep this up until you get whatever was causing the problem.

OK, if you now have a very dirty toy (or whatever) you can make sure everything works.  Wad up some more toilet paper and do a couple of test flushes.  If it all goes down fine you are finished.  If not, you will want to see part 2 of this report on what to do if you have a toy in the toilet.

Here’s Part 2:

http://www.basicplumbingrepair.com/blog/33/toy-in-the-toilet-heres-the-old-school-solution-part-2-of-2/

Technorati Tags: Better Chance, Business End, child put toy in toilet, clogged toilet, Clogged Toilets, closet auger, Crank, Hook, Licensed Plumber, Lot, Pliers, Plunger, Scratches, Several Times, Steel Cable, Toilet Bowl, Toilet Paper, Tool Steel, toy dropped in toilet, toy flushed toilet, toy in toilet, toy stuck in toilet, Tricky Problem

Well, I promised Elsie I would make some more videos, so here’s a two part one about how to unclog a bathroom sink drain (technically it’s called a lavatory, in case any plumbers are reading this).  The second one is a little long, about 7 minutes, but I couln’t find a good place to split it.  My 11 year old son did a great job as my camera man, but this isn’t a staged studio production.  I like to think of it as “real video for real life”.

Also, I imbedded the video in the blog this time instead of using a link.  How about leaving a comment and let me know which way you like the best.  Anyway, here are the videos.  Let me know what you think.  By the way, noticed the title screen is a little messed up on the second one.  I’ll fix it one day.

And here’s number 2:

I hope this helps.

See you next time,

Bryan

Copyright 2009 Bryan Stevens

Technorati Tags: DIY Plumbing, home improvement, How To Unclog A Bathroom Sink, Lavatory, Plumbers, Plumbing Repair

Hello Again,

My number one question is how to unclog a toilet.  Since so many of you asked that question, I posted a video on YouTube showing how you can unclog a toilet in just 11 seconds.  Really!  The video is a little rough and I sound pretty dorky but, hey, it’s my first one ever and it does show you how to unclog a toilet in 11 seconds.

One thing to pay attention to is to make sure you use the right type of plunger.  This will make all the diference.

I’d love to hear your feedback, so just click on the little comments link in the upper right of this post and let me know what you think about the posts and what I can do to help you.

Anyway, here’s the video:

Don’t forget, add your comment and let me know it this helps you learn how to unclog a toilet.

Until Next Time,

Bryan Stevens

Copyright 2009

Technorati Tags: basic plumbing repair, Bryan Stevens, Feedback, Hello, How To Unclog A Toilet, how to unstop a toilet, Love, One Question, plugged toilet, plumbers helper, Plunger, snake a toilet, stopped up toilet, Toilet, Toilet Plunger, toilet snake