Plumbing, in plain English.
Water heaters, drains, leaks, pressure and the pipes behind the walls.
The lingo.
- Anode rod
- The sacrificial rod inside a tank water heater that corrodes so the tank does not. Replacing it every few years can double the tank's life.
- Backflow preventer
- A device that stops contaminated water from flowing backward into the supply, required on irrigation and some boilers. Many cities require annual testing.
- Cast iron
- The heavy drain pipe in houses built before the 1970s. It rusts from the inside; a camera inspection shows whether it needs lining or replacement.
- Cleanout
- A capped access point on a drain line where a Pro runs a cable or camera. Knowing where yours is saves time on a clog call.
- Copper
- The traditional rigid supply pipe, joined by soldering or press fittings. Still used in exposed and high-heat locations.
- Expansion tank
- A small tank near the water heater that absorbs the pressure of heated water expanding. Required with a closed system (a PRV or backflow preventer).
- Fixture
- Anything water comes out of or drains into: faucet, toilet, tub, shower, sink. Plumbers often price by the fixture.
- Hydro jetting
- Clearing a drain with high-pressure water instead of a cable. Cleans grease and roots off the pipe wall rather than just punching a hole through the clog.
- Main shutoff
- The valve that stops all water to the house, usually where the service enters or at the meter. Every adult in the house should know where it is.
- P-trap
- The U-shaped bend under every fixture that holds water to block sewer gas. A dry trap in an unused drain is why a guest bathroom smells.
- PEX
- Cross-linked polyethylene, the flexible plastic tubing now standard for supply lines. Fewer joints than copper and freeze-tolerant, joined with crimp, clamp or expansion fittings.
- Pressure regulator (PRV)
- A valve that drops street pressure to a safe 50 to 70 psi for the house. High pressure shortens the life of every fixture and appliance.
- PVC and ABS
- Plastic drain, waste and vent pipe. White PVC and black ABS are not glued to each other without a transition fitting.
- Sewer lateral
- The drain line from the house to the city main or septic tank. Usually the homeowner's responsibility all the way to the street.
- Sump pump
- The pump in a basement pit that lifts groundwater out. A battery backup keeps it running through the storm that takes the power out.
- Tankless (on-demand)
- A water heater that heats water as it flows instead of storing it. Endless hot water and a smaller footprint; sizing depends on the flow rate you need at once and how cold the incoming water is.
- Vent stack
- The pipe that lets air into the drain system so water flows and traps do not siphon. Gurgling drains often mean a blocked vent.
- Water heater
- The tank or tankless unit that heats domestic hot water. Tanks last 8 to 12 years; a leaking tank is replaced, not repaired.
Guides.
- Before you call a plumber
Where the shutoff is, what is an emergency, and how a plumber prices the visit.
- Paying for the work: deposits, draws and financing
How much to pay up front, when progress payments are fair and what to watch in a financing offer.
- Hiring a Pro: five questions before you sign
License, insurance, references, a written scope, and who is actually showing up.
- What a written warranty should say
Workmanship, materials and the difference between them. What to ask for and how to make a claim.
- How to read a contractor's estimate
Compare scopes, not prices. What every line on a good estimate means and the questions to ask before you sign.
Reading list.
Articles from around the internet that our Pros trust. They open on the source's site.
- Lead in drinking water · U.S. EPA
Where lead comes from in older plumbing and what to do about it.
- Water heating · U.S. Department of Energy
Tank, tankless and heat pump water heaters, and how to choose.
- WaterSense · U.S. EPA
Labeled fixtures that use less water without giving up performance, and how to find leaks.
Articles from HomeMaxx.
All articlesThe fall checklist: twelve things to do before the first freeze
An afternoon of small jobs in October prevents most of the emergency calls Pros get in January. Here is the list, in the order to do it.
2 min readMaintenanceYour water heater is trying to tell you something
Tank water heaters fail on a schedule, and the failure is a flood. The four sounds and signs that mean it is time, and the two maintenance jobs that add years.
3 min readMaintenanceHumidity, mold and the musty basement
Mold does not need a leak. It needs air over 60 percent humidity and a cool surface, and every basement in summer has both. What the number should be, how to get it there and when a musty smell is a bigger problem.
3 min readSeasonsThe summer checklist: keeping the house cool, dry and standing
Summer is hard on a house in quieter ways than winter: heat in the attic, water in the basement air, sun on the paint, and the storms. What to do in June so August is uneventful.
2 min readMaintenanceIrrigation: watering the lawn without watering the house
A sprinkler system left on its spring settings is the most common cause of a rotten sill and a wet basement that nobody can explain. The heads, the schedule, the backflow preventer and the fixes.
3 min readSafetySummer power outages: the generator, the food and the sump
Summer storms take the power out more often than winter ones now, and the two things that go wrong are a generator run in the wrong place and a basement that floods while the pump sits idle. The rules for both.
3 min readMaintenanceSmall leaks, big bills: finding water where it should not be
The leak that ruins a house is rarely a burst pipe. It is a drip nobody noticed for a year. Eight places to look, once a season, and what each one is telling you.
3 min readSeasonsThe spring checklist: finding out what winter did to the house
Freeze and thaw, snow load, ice dams and four months of heating leave marks. A spring walk-around finds them while they are small. Here is the list, outside then in.
3 min readSafetyCarbon monoxide: the alarm every home needs, and where it goes
You cannot see it or smell it, and it comes from the furnace, the water heater, the car and the generator. What an alarm costs, where to mount it and what to do when it sounds.
2 min readSeasonsThe winter checklist: getting a house through the cold months
Fall was for preparing. Winter is for watching. The habits that get a house through to March without a burst pipe, an ice dam or a furnace call at midnight.
2 min readSeasonsFrozen pipes: keeping them from freezing, and what to do when one does
A pipe does not burst when it freezes. It bursts when it thaws, or when the ice blocks the line and the pressure builds behind it. Which pipes are at risk, how to protect them and the right way to thaw one.
3 min readFrom the Pros.
Written by the people who do this work every day, in your area.
The first posts from Plumbing Pros are on their way.
Questions from homeowners.
Ask the ProsNo questions yet for Plumbing. Yours would be the first, and a Pro will answer it.