If you poke a drinking straw into your soft drink and place a finger over the opening, you can lift the straw out and the liquid in the straw will stay. Remove your finger and the liquid runs out.

I recently had a plumbing emergency in my own home. The main drain pipe under the basement floor got clogged with toilet paper. The culprit is a newer low-flush toilet in a basement bathroom. I’ve ...

Any curve in a pipe increases the potential for blockage. Drain traps are one of the most common places for blockages to occur. Drains are hidden heroes in your home. If you’re lucky, you can go for ...

Q Until recently, our commode was working fine. But lately we cannot get it to flush, even with little paper in it. The water just goes around, but it won't go down. We have tried using a bucket of ...

Q: My washing machine is in the basement in a room directly beneath the kitchen. When water drains from the washer, it’s going into a hole in the basement floor. The sump pump kicks on, but the water ...

I’ve been a master plumber since 1981. I’ve always loved doing plumbing because it’s a very interesting three-dimensional challenge to install drain, waste and vent (DWV) piping in a new home or a ...