Recent content by Mazcar

Gentlemen, We froze our Tex-asses last year when the power went out. It was 8 degrees and I'm built for 100 degree Summers! We have a 24"-35" fireplace that we never used until this last Winter. We used the stand/grill/grate thing and put some logs on it. Under the stand, there's a gas...

Gentlemen, I have a Toto Drake CST744s. It's a couple of years old, now. We have serious water issues at my condos. The water puts out a lot of minerals and our water lines have calcium build-up. Recently, my toilet started giving me the once-per hour hiss that seems to be the symptom of a...

Thanks! I borrowed a snake machine, like the one in the video, and gently fed it down the pvc overflow down to the cast iron p-trap. It worked. A big wad of hair, covered in a black goo came out. Originally, it took almost an hour to drain the tub. Now, running the shower at full bore, zero...

By hand snake, do you mean like the hand-cranked machine in the above video, or do you mean the one that looks like a ten foot coiled up rope that, I guess, you just gently feed into the pipe? I routinely use a 18" plastic herringbone rod from Brasscraft to clean out the tubs. It gets out...

I'm thinking that the non-powered snake in the video is pretty safe for the forty year old p-trap? I don't know what my neighbors' plumber used when he broke his p-trap. It could have been some high-powered machine with a ham-fisted operator. Thanks, again.

Hi All, My condo bathtub has an extremely slow drain. In the time it took me to shower (longish shower) the bathtub filled up to the round cap a few inches under the spout. That's a scary amount of water. Also, it takes more than a half hour for the tub to empty that water. There is a...

Thanks for the suggestion. I will try the espresso cleaning packets and see if that works.

For the most part, they are little white salt granule sized white bits. Some chunks are bigger, though. I assume it is calcium. For the not most part, I have seen some small black flakes. Also, per Insinkerator, the water heater is connected to a tee at the cold water line. Thanks, again!

Hi All, I have an Insinkerator instant hot water heater (it has a small stainless steel tank). It has progressively gotten to where it now sputters and sporadically flows its hot water out. A few months ago, I removed it and flushed it out with tap water, shook it around, and got a lot of...

Thanks! Currently, there is no baffle tee. Insinkerator did not include one, nor mention it in their instructions. I will definitely add that to the list for the plumber, though. With the spewing, I was afraid of installing an air release. Should I add a hole for an air release system to my...

Okay, the Badger finally blew up. I replaced it. Except for the faucet's cartridge, it is the ONLY job that I have done to this kitchen. Everything else is original or has been done by licensed plumbers. I replaced the Badger EXACTLY to the instructions and touched nothing else. I am set...

Thanks so much for your suggestions. The plumbers came out today. They shut off the hot water for the entire complex at the water heaters. I tried my hot water and got nothing. Okay. No systemic cross-contamination, right? The issue is that unit #6 has the 100 degree hot water that Smooky...

Thanks for the tips. I had not thought about that, but 100 degrees is very suspicious. You're right. That is an average of hot and cold temperatures! The plumber came out (again) and said the water heater is fine. I don't know why it is so hard for them to just buy a thermometer and take an...

Hi All, My condo neighbor is having hot water issues and we've thrown money at the problem at that hasn't solved the issue. I am hoping to get some guidance on this issue. I live in a forty year old complex. It is shaped like a rectangle with four buildings comprised of forty-eight units...

Okay, I just took some channel locks to the nut. It seems pretty tight as is. It looks like nylon or some sort of plastic and don't really want to bugger it up nor crack the tank. This Drake is made in Thailand. Is it possible that those guys are tightening up stuff? I haven't checked the...