Angie's LIST Guide to
Plumbing
A homeowner's guide to household plumbing from the moment water lines enter your property to the point at which your sewer line carries it away. Learn about water heaters, softeners, how toilets work and how to find a great plumber in your city.
A homeowner's guide to household plumbing from the moment water lines enter your property to the point at which your sewer line carries it away. Learn about water heaters, softeners, how toilets work and how to find a great plumber in your city.
Top Topics
When bathroom drains get clogged, don't pour in chemicals. Instead, try 1/2 cup of baking soda followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Let it work for 20 minutes, then flush with a tea kettle full of scalding water.
Read more about bathroom drains
Although the bathroom is usually the smallest room in the house, it has the greatest concentration of plumbing.
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Answers
Ask a question on any topic covered by Angie's List and see responses from expert service providers and other homeowners with advice to share. Most popular plumbing questions:
- My house has a problem (or 2 or 3) but I don't know where to start or who to call. How do I find out the most appropriate provider?
- Looking for someone who can fix the float in our sump pump. The house had set empty for a few years and it seems the float is sticking in i
- My property to be repaired is in a different zip code from my own home. How can I find plumbers in that other area?
- We have an outdoor pipe that burst from the cold that needs to be fixed. Is this a plumbing concern? Or someone else? Not sure who to call
- LIve in the city flood control installed incorrectly. Sewage backed up now told that I need a new correctly install sytem.What do I do?
Videos
The path of plumbing to your tap
To find your home's water meter, look for a metal cover similar to this along the edge of your property.
If your house is on city water, the main water meter and shut-off valve may be located in an underground pit near the property line. The homeowner is responsible for repairing a broken water line on his or her property.
Not all homes need water softeners. Have your water tested for the concentration of calcium and magnesium to find out. Water softeners filter out those minerals which will otherwise build up inside plumbing and also reduce the effectiveness of soaps and detergents.
A water heater is like a big pot of water kept piping hot all day and all night just in case it's needed. Some homeowners are switching to tankless heaters, which are more expensive but can save money in the long run. Be sure to a licensed plumber with experience with experience with tankless water heaters to get the installation done right.
Many rural residents depend on well water and on the reliability of the well pump.
Kitchen plumbing
It's a busy place under your kitchen sink; take the time to know your way around.
Move aside that row of cleaning products and take a look at your pipes. We'll explain how they all work together and what you need to know when something breaks. And uh-oh, are those mouse droppings?
You can't put just anything down there. Some food wastes are best thrown in the trash on the composite pile. Learn what not to put in your disposal, how to fix a jam and how to keep your disposal from stinking.
If you have a gas stove you may occasionally need a plumber to change a hookup or fix a leak. Gas leaks are extremely dangerous so it's important that all family members know what to do if they suspect there is a leak.
Bathroom plumbing
Drain clogs in the bathroom are nearly always caused by hair accumulation.
The modern toilet is the product of thousands of years of human experimentation and it works pretty well -- except when it doesn't. Here are tips on how to unclog a toilet and how to fix the mechanisms within the tank that govern the flush and re-fill.
It's the smallest room in the house, but crammed with plumbing to meet your every bodily need. Showers, tubs, whirlpools -- even urinals and bidets can be found in the modern bathroom. Homeowners can replace showerheads and fix small leaks in sink faucets, but most of bathroom plumbing is difficult to access and generally requires the attention of a professional plumber.
While grease is usually the culprit in kitchen clogs, when the clog is in a bathroom drain you can usually blame your hair. Most bathroom sink clogs are fairly easy to fix by the homeowner because it's usually confined to the p-trap pipe just under the sink. Bathtub drains have similar traps, but they're harder to access by the non-professional.
Down the drain
Cleaning a septic system needs to be done every couple of years.
Although homeowners can fix most common clogs, if the obstruction is in the main drain it usually needs the attention of a plumber who specializes in clearing drains. Often the problem is tree roots and if the problem is bad enough the whole sewer pipe may need to be replaced. Some drain replacement specialists can now do this without extensive digging.
Houses in rural areas, and even some in cities, are not served by a municipal sewer system and must rely instead on septic systems on the homeowner's property. These can be efficient and even eco-friendly, but they do need to be cleaned out every few years.
Most homes with basements require a sump pump to keep ground water from seeping in. The little pump kicks on automatically and does its job for years without trouble. Sooner or later, however, it will fail and if you have a finished basement it's wise to have a battery-powered backup pump to take over during a power outage of if the main pump begins to fail.
More plumbing topics
Be prepared for plumbing emergencies by knowing where to shut off the water supply.
When you hire a plumber, especially for a big job for which you have time to plan, make sure you get more than one estimate and that the person you hire is licensed, bonded and insured. Check Angie's List to find local plumbers who have received consistently excellent reviews from their past customers.
No, we don't mean outhouses (which aren't technically "plumbing"), but the use of tap water from your household plumbing outdoors. Outdoor spigots are often the source of costly water leaks because the slow drip isn't as easily noticed outdoors. When a new spigot needs to be installed, ask your plumber about no-freeze options. Many homeowners who love to cook outdoors also install permanent or portable outdoor sinks.
It's a holiday and a pipe breaks, spewing water everywhere. Be prepared to handle a plumbing emergency by knowing where to shut off the water and who you can call on holidays and weekends. The service fee and hourly rate will likely be higher, so it's good to know who you'd call before you need to.