How to Use a Drain Snake

Drain Snake in a Shower Stall

So – in my last blog entry I talked about drain cleaning liquids not being effective or safe to use in DIY clog-busting. What’s a homeowner to do? The safest way to go after a stopped up or slow drain is to use a tool to reach down and pull it up – using a […]

Chemical Drain Cleaners…Or Not?

pH Scale

Most of us, when faced with a pesky slow drain or clogged sink, have been tempted to use a chemical drain cleaner at one time or other. What could be easier than opening a bottle and pouring the contents down the drain? Jake the Plumber doesn’t recommend any of these products, and here’s why. These […]

Water Heaters

Leaky Water Heater

A Drip At The Base… It’s Time To Replace! The lowly water heater. Most of the time it sits, neglected, in your basement or crawl space. Delivering hot water whenever you turn on the tap, it fires up to heat more water for the next shower, dishwasher or laundry cycle. Most of us don’t know […]

Keep Your Sump Pump Happy

Sump Pump

Water enters a basement, especially in an older home, from a variety of sources. You may have some cracks in the foundation, the floor drain can overflow from a leaky washing machine, or some of the joints in the concrete may allow seepage, to name a few. In any case, you need a sump pump […]

Know Your Sump Pump

Sump Pump diagram

With spring rains in the forecast for Minnesota, it’s time to start thinking about your sump pump. If you live in a house or townhome, you probably have one. It’s a small pump installed in the basement or lowest part of your house, and is designed to keep the area under the building dry.  It’s […]

Beware the Gurgle

Drain Waste Vent System diagram

Does your toilet gurgle when you flush? Or afterwards, do funny noises come from it? Chances are there is something wrong with the venting in your plumbing system. The plumbing in your house or apartment is made up of several components – the water supply coming in, the drain pipe for used water, and the […]

How to Keep the Drain Cleaner Away

Kitchen Sink backup

Our plumbers who do drain cleaning are great at what they do, but many people want to know how to keep their drains running freely without having a messy back-up. No one wants to think about this – we all want to use our sinks and toilets and have it all disappear down the drain. The […]

Low Water Flow?

Dripping Faucet

Do you have a kitchen or bathroom faucet that has low water pressure? If the rest of your house has better flow than that one fixture, chances are a quick and easy do-it-yourself project will fix the problem. Try cleaning the aerator before installing a new faucet. The aerator is pictured here, and can usually be screwed […]

What’s That Funny Smell?

Cartoon of Unhappy Smelly toilet

Have you ever noticed a mystery smell coming from one of your drains, especially a floor drain in the basement? Or maybe it’s in one of your bathrooms. It may smell like a sewer or some other unpleasant odor. You may be able to check out some possible causes and save a service call from […]

Keep Your Garbage Disposal Happy This Holiday Season

Garbage Disposal cutaway diagram

It’s the holiday season again! As you make plans to have company and host holiday dinners, the thought of maintenance is probably pretty far from your mind. But a little planning can help assure that all your drains and the garbage disposal don’t back up and fail at the worst possible time. Garbage disposals are […]