Putting harsh drain chemicals or bleaches into a garborator is not a good idea because of all the metal, rubber and plastic parts. You might damage something. If it is really smelly it probably has some food stuff stuck in corners that just don't flush out.Here is where enzyme cleaners come to ...
Janice from Clarenville, Newfoundland has a toilet that has a mind of its own. Setting aside the possibility that it is not a toilet at all but rather one of those strange European bidets, my best guess on this one is a partial blockage that is interfering with one of the jets of water that serv...
Kim from London, Ontario suggests filling the bathtub with water before caulking between the tub and the tiles.This is a great idea because by the time you add both water and people, your bathtub can weigh over 400 pounds. This can easily cause it to sink just a little bit, the floor bends, the ...
Ben in Montreal is having trouble getting wet in the shower.Often water pressure will decrease in a system when you have old pipes that are slowly collecting calcium and other minerals on the inside, closing down the diameter of the water flow. In a serious case, simply putting in standard new p...
My renovating buddy Mike Holmes of Restovate in Toronto (before he went on TV) was into the creation of a new basement suite so I asked him to show us as he cut in for the rough plumbing for the toilet. So he jack hammered up the floor, then dug a bit more (as is common), then he discovered that...
Chuck writes: "I replaced some old iron pipes a while ago, but I didn't replace the pipes going from the basement up to the second floor bathroom because the pipes are embedded in the wall."If those vertical pipes are strapped into place, you will have to open the wall, at least part of it to rel...
One viewer bought a cottage to discover that the septic system consisted of a tank in the basement that had to be pumped out all the time. They were on rocky terrain so a traditional septic tank and large leaching field would not work. Pumping out that tank, like with a house trailer, was a real ...
A viewer from Nanaimo, BC has a bedroom ensuite far away from the hot water tank and wants to know how to cut down the long delay between turning on the hot water and getting hot water at the tap.Even if you could open the walls and add insulation to the pipe, it would not help the problem. Insu...
When you find that floor modifications, like new tiles, have raised your toilet above the height of the original drain ring, what do you do? asks Cliff.There are several solutions to extend up over a 1/4 to 1 inch gap.First there is a wax ring, the kind with the plastic funnel down the middle, th...
Todd wants to "replace our 175 litre water tank with two smaller size tanks. We think we could hook up one just for showers and the other to look after some household needs. Is this a good idea?"Actually the 175 litre or 40 Imperial gallon tank (46.25 US gallons) is considered standard if not s...
