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I've been getting black soot coming out in the bathtub when the hot water hasn't been used all night. It doesn't appear to be broken-up rubber. It is very fine, black, and the large pieces will break up and dissolve if I poke them with my finger. It will smear on the tub. I have a gas hot...

Is it safe to drain my 40 gallon water heater, fill with a few gallons of white vinegar, and then let it sit overnight? It is 8 years old (2004 model), and every day I hear explosions in it (scale breaking up?). I assume that this would help clean dissolve all of the sediment which doesn't...

My Vikrell tub that we started using last July cracked near the corner of the threshold area, close to where the door sits. Tub was set in piles of mortar and never made a peep while using it. Anyone have experience with Kohler on warranty work? I am really kicking myself for not getting...

Hello, I have an acrylic shower pan that I'm using with an Oatey "no caulk" shower drain. I installed it as advised by the instructions, but it's leaking between the top flange and the shower base. Surprisingly, the "no caulk" rubber gasket is holding up just fine. In other words, the...

Hi, One of the white porcelain undermount sinks that came with my granite countertops isn't quite flat enough around the drain flange area. Thus, even after I installed the drain flange with plumbers putty, a few weeks later and most of the putty has washed out in a small 1/2" area around...

Can I do this, and will it work properly? The (blue) drain is 4" pipe where it attaches to each closet flange and ties into the main stack which goes up through the roof. The black fitting is a combo-wye. There are no other vents (besides the main stack, obviously). The rightmost toilet is 6...

Hey guys, I've got a great little plumbing shortcut you can use to add a vent to a toilet drain. I learned about it this afternoon when I removed my home's original toilet in bathroom #2. All you do is take an elbow fitting, cut a hole in it, insert a piece of pipe, and then caulk the hell out...

A few months ago, I had cut out my bathtub trap and replaced it with a tubular plastic one. The old one was cast iron, and about 50% blocked with a rusty-buildup on the bottomside of the pipe. I was wondering if anyone has tried using CLR to fix a slow cast iron drain, thinking that it might...

This wall on my rear patio area has been "moist" the last 2 days. This is a brick veneer wall, where real brick is used in front of sheathing, studs, etc. Inside area of the home corresponding to this section (corner of my kitchen) is dry. My house sits about 16 inches above grade, so...

Hi, Just had granite countertops installed today with a new undermount sink, and now it appears my garbage disposal may be too low for the drain coming out of the wall. Does it look like I need to move my "tee" in the wall lower? Currently the bottom of the disposal discharge is 13 inches...

Hi, I have a 48x48 Jacuzzi Tru-Level™ Shower Base. This evening I tried to install it. I dry fit the base first. Then I shimmed it level, taped the shims to the floor, and marked on the studs the edges of the shower base. I then removed the base. I shoveled about 6 or 7 little piles of mortar...

Hi, I just paid a master plumber to install some venting in my attic. He did OK, but I believe he may have reversed the sanitary tee. This picture illustrates what he did (found it on another web site). Is the sanitary tee in the top middle in the wrong direction? Thanks.

I tried searching for this answer everywhere but came up with nothing. Does Home Depot/Lowes sell trap adapters for the white plastic pipe that does *not* use a tapered washer? It seems to be integrated into the nut? I tried using one with a tapered washer, and could not get the nut to thread.

Hi, I removed my old tub. I couldn't get the drain out of the tub, so I ended up cutting the brass pipe that connects to it from underneath. I then removed the tub and the slip nuts. The remaining tub drain has the threaded sanitary-tee-like connection, which goes into a lead-filled...

I live in a single-story 1400 sq ft home on a concrete slab. Every room in the house has at least one supply vent, and one return vent. In the office, however, there is also a large 20" x 20" return vent which is on the other side of the main blower for the system. As a result, this return...

I have four 1-1/2" vent pipes in my attic that I would like to combine into a single exit through the roof. What size should that pipe be, or how should I do it? Do the pipe sizes need to increase as they are combined (as with drain pipes)? Thanks

How far should the 1-1/2" PVC drain pipe stick out of the wall before the 1-1/4" trap adapter is glued in place? 6 inches? Couldn't find this anywhere. This is for a vanity cabinet sink.

Is there a cleanout that can be placed flush with the finished floor(so that you can walk over it safely, etc)?

Where are you guys buying these things? I found one here: So I call my local Ace Hardware, and the guy says he shows an inventory of 91 of those...total...in the entire United States at any Ace Hardware-affiliated store. So then I call two more local plumbing supply stores (J&H Aicheson...

Here's a picture to help show what I'm trying to do. The bottom of the picture is where lowest point is (where the pipe drops down and out to the sewer). I understand that the Fernco flexible fitting shown is not allowed to be buried, nor is the 2" sanitary tee on its back as shown on the...