Plumbing Archives - Pretty Handy Girl

Plumbing Fixes You Can Complete

11 Plumbing Fixes You Can Complete

When I tell people that there are few reasons to call a plumber, they are usually doubtful. Today I want to show you 11 Plumbing Fixes You Can Complete on your own! Whether you have a leaky faucet, a slow drain, or a malfunctioning toilet —today you’re going to learn how to solve all those plumbing issues and more! Ready to get started? No plumber’s crack required. 😉

Did you know you don’t have to live with a drippy, rusty, or poor functioning shower head? Learn how to Easily Install a New Shower Head for a simple bathroom update.

Shower valve stems wear out, it’s as predictable as rain on the day you want to rock a killer hairdo. Unfortunately I can’t help you with your bad hair day, but I can teach you How to Repair a Leaky Shower or Tub Faucet in no time. (Just so you know, my eight year old helped me with this fix. If he can do it, so can you!)

Unfortunately, clogged sinks happen to the best of us. Next time your sink basin refuses to drain, try this Non-Toxic Drain Opener. Plus, you can find the ingredients in your pantry (or buy them because they are inexpensive and chemical free!)

Oh $*+! Did you drop your favorite earring down the drain? Put down the phone, you can easily learn How to Retrieve Items Dropped Down the Drain by following these few steps. And hey, even if it isn’t your favorite earring, you’ll want to remove the item to prevent a future clog.

Replacing Water Lines with Braided Metal Hoses is as easy as attaching your garden hose. But, it can save you thousands of dollars in damages from a burst water line. If you don’t have the braided metal type of hoses, you’ll want to learn how to replace them.

Drip, drip, drip! Is that leaky faucet keeping you up at night? I have a 10 minute fix that will bring you sweet dreams and a lower water bill. Follow this simple tutorial for Fixing a Leaky Faucet.

Sometimes the simplest and least expensive solution for a leaking faucet doesn’t fix the issue (especially if the faucet has been leaking for a long time.) Don’t fret, you can still stop the dripping without replacing the entire faucet or resorting to calling a plumber. Learn how to replace the valve stems in just a few minutes.

Years ago, my mom’s kitchen sink sprayer started spraying us! We tried to clean the head, but ultimately gave her faucet the boot. Learn how you too can install a new sink faucet in no time.

Occasionally a sink drain assembly will fail on you. You don’t have to wash your money down the drain by hiring a plumber. Instead, see how easy it is to replace a sink drain.

Toilet broken? Rarely does that mean you need to replace your toilet. If your toilet is in need of a repair, here are several fixes to put it back in working order:

Okay, I understand you really want to update your throne. In that case, here’s How to Install a Toilet using this simple app. If you get stuck, you can press a button and have a video conference with a licensed plumber! It’s amazing how one little app can save you hundreds of dollars on plumbing repairs (and more.)

I hope you have the confidence to take on your own plumbing fix after reading these 11 Plumbing Fixes You Can Complete on your own. Remember, I believe in you, go ahead and believe in yourself.

January 19, 2018/7 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Plumbing

Perfect Showerhead for a Small Shower

Perfect Shower Head for a Small Shower

Raise your hand if you have a small shower. Have you ever struggled to find the Perfect Shower Head for your tiny shower? I feel your pain. Recently I had to replace a worn out shower head in our bathroom and I struggled to find the perfect hand held shower head. But, this story has a happy ending, because I stumbled upon the perfect showerhead for a small shower that works beautifully in our not so beautiful shower. I warn you, the harvest gold tile you are about to see may sear your eyes. I warned you.

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

I started by installing a Moen Twist Shower Head (that was given to me complimentary at Haven last year.) The problem reared its (shower) head immediately. The first morning, after installing the new showerhead, I turned on the water to take a shower, and realized this new showerhead wasn’t going to work. I stepped into the shower and got a face full of water, because the spray was too high no matter where I angled it. I could barely stand under the shower spray unless I was pressed flat against the opposite wall. I removed it and installed the showerhead into the boy’s bathroom tub shower and it was a better fit.

At the home improvement store, I studied all the showerheads like a crazy lady. I decided I needed to find one that didn’t sit in the shower arm at the bottom of the sprayer. I almost gave up until I saw the Moen Six Function Magnetic Showerhead. It looked promising. But, I had to admit, I was skeptical of the magnetic technology. I tested several magnetic faucets that didn’t have the strength to really grab a faucet sprayer without being exactly against the base.

After installing the new showerhead, I lifted the sprayer off the shower arm. It detached from the magnets with a firm tug.

As I moved the showerhead back toward the arm, the magnets pulled and reseated the sprayer firmly in place. I was surprised and pleased by the magnetic grip.

But, I was more interested to see how the spray pattern would measure up. With the water turned on full blast, I was pleased to see the spray didn’t hit the wall on the opposite side!

Here’s a good side-by-side comparison of the two spray heads (thanks to my wonky photoshop skills):

Overall, I’m very happy with the new Moen Six Function Magnetic Showerhead. It is the Perfect Shower Head for a tiny shower!

I’m curious how many of you have a tiny coffin-like shower? Let’s start a small shower support group so we can discuss the challenges of shaving your legs in confined spaces.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post or paid review. I purchased the showerhead with my own greenbacks. The first showerhead I installed was given to us in our swag bags at Haven last year.

July 24, 2017/11 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Plumbing, Product Review

The App That Saved My Butt – DIYZ App Review

The App That Saved My Butt | DIYZ | Pretty Handy Girl

Just the other week we had a situation in the Handy Household. It was a recurring issue and was bound to get out of control resulting in a big mess sooner or later. Fortunately, the situation happened while Handsome Guy was traveling so I had a few days to try to resolve the problem. Ultimately I ended up doing some research to find a solution and that’s how I discovered The App that Saved My Butt: DIYZ App Review.

DIYZ App Review

I have to admit, when I first heard about this app it didn’t sound like anything revolutionary. You can get a ton of DIY tutorials all over the web and YouTube. But, when I tried the DIYZ app, my mind was changed forever. This is where I should mention that this is a sponsored post for DIYZ. But, I wouldn’t write about any app unless I truly thought it is a good resource for you, my loyal handy readers.

Now that we got that out of the way, here’s how the story unfolded. We have a toilet downstairs that has always been temperamental. It usually acts up when we have company and then it’s embarrassing for all parties concerned. But, this toilet was usually set right with a few healthy plunges. Hopefully you understand that we put up with this cycle (clog-yell-plunge-solved) for nine years.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago as I tried unsuccessfully to clear that problem toilet once again. I plunged and plunged (while silently cursing my boys who were probably guilty of clogging it) until the plunger broke. I went over possible solutions in my head:

Hire a plumber – No, too expensive.
Replace the toilet – Maybe as a last resort.
Search the web for ideas to unclog a toilet – Free, but it’s hard to know which advice is good advice.

I happened to remember the DIYZ app (that I downloaded this summer) and figured, what the heck. I found a tutorial for How to Unclog a Toilet.

Within the app, you can shop for all the tools you need for the job.

I purchased an auger and tried to clear the clog, but still had no luck. DRAT!

I knew it was time to take more drastic measures. I looked through the plumbing tutorials on DIYZ until I found the one I needed:

The tutorial was a quality video that included a list of tools and materials I’d need.

The required safety gear is well illustrated. (Any tutorial that mentions the suggested safety measures gets a gold star from me!)

A list of the steps were spelled out in the beginning.

After watching the video I felt confident to take on the task by myself. (Of course it would be easier with a helper, but no one was around to help me.)

I starting by turning off the water.

Then I followed the step-by-step tutorial from DIYZ. Thanks to this app, we had a working toilet downstairs within a few hours. And it saved my butt because I know Handsome Guy would not have been happy to come home from his trip to this sight:

Let me tell you why I really think the DIYZ app rocks. Have you ever gotten stuck in the middle of a project and need an answer from a pro? Or have you wanted someone to double check your work? This is the feature that sets DIYZ apart from the any other DIY tutorial source:

If you need a pro, you can have a licensed professional on the phone to help you in a minute. This is a revolutionary service. Think about it — you can get instant advice. Just send photos or switch to video chat to show the licensed pro the issues you’re dealing with. No more wondering who you can trust and who you can call. No more rushing back to the home improvement store to try to hunt down someone to answer your question. And no more watching YouTubers who may or may not give you the answers you need.

How much do you think this service costs? Remember licensed contractors can charge up to $150 per hour. For that reason, you’ll be thrilled to hear that this service is free until the end of the year! In 2017, the Get Pro Advice will begin charging $10 for the first 10 minutes and $1 a minute after that. Definitely more cost effective than hiring a pro!

The app is now available for free download in the Apple App Store for iPhone and Google Play for Android.

DIYZ also has more than just plumbing tutorials. Learn how to fix or update just about anything in your home from the DIYZ app.

Go ahead, download the app right now! What are you waiting for? It’s free and you have nothing to lose.

You can watch lots of tutorial videos in your free time. Educate yourself and learn how to complete your own home repairs and improvements. I can’t even begin to tell you how much money you’ll save doing it yourself.

Handy Hints: If you do have to replace your toilet, I have a few tips for you if you are flying solo.

Have a large lawn and leaf bag sitting next to the toilet.

Set the toilet inside the bag to catch any drips as you escort your toilet out of the house.

2. If you are installing the toilet yourself, it can be difficult to line up the toilet on the bolts. Cut a drinking straw in half and put a straw on each bolt. This makes it a little easier to line up the holes in the toilet base with the bolts.

3. Add scrap boards on either side of the waste pipe to rest the toilet on top of before seating the toilet and compressing the wax ring. This will allow you to line up the bolts, then remove one board at a time to slowly lower the toilet while double checking that it is still lined up with the bolts.

One last tip. Don’t forget to remove the rag before setting the toilet (ask me how I know.)

Are you curious about what caused our toilet to clog beyond fixing? Well, it was actually my fault. Unbeknownst to me, my camera remote fell out of my pocket and into the toilet. For once I couldn’t blame it on any of the boys or men in my life. It was my fault!

I had no idea, but it had wedged itself in the toilet. Even though I could have re-set the old toilet and called it a day, I decided to replace the toilet with a newer dual flush toilet and save water in addition to saving our guests any more embarrassment.

I’m happy to say the new toilet works perfectly! And that’s how a little app called DIYZ saved my butt! 😉

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for DIYZ. I was approached about working with DIYZ, but didn’t agree until after I found the app extremely helpful while replacing our toilet. I was not told what to write. All opinions are my own. I am particular about the brands I represent and will always let you know when you are reading a sponsored post.

October 31, 2016/15 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

energy conservation, Home & Auto Maintenance, Home Maintenance, Plumbing

How Energy Efficient is Your Water Heater?

Let’s talk more about energy efficiency today. Did you know that your water heater can be one of the biggest energy hogs?

It’s true! That conventional storage tank water heater works all day to keep your water hot. If the thermostat senses the temperature dip below the set temperature, it turns on to heat the water again. This goes on all day and night regardless if you are home or not. And until recently, water heaters had very little insulation. This meant that cold air in your garage or crawlspace would wreak havoc on the water heater making it work that much harder to keep that tank of water hot. It makes sense that this is one of the least efficient systems in your home.

New government guidelines have been established to require all conventional water heaters (tank storage style) to be more energy efficient. To achieve these higher standards, newer tanks have built in insulation. Sounds great, right? Not entirely. If you are replacing your old water heater with a new one, the same gallon capacity water heater takes up more space and may not fit in the same spot. This means you may have to purchase a new water heater that doesn’t hold as many gallons. This is a real problem if you have a crawl space water heater. It’s a good idea to plan ahead and replace your water heater before it dies. Your new water heater may even pay for itself by being more energy efficient than your old one.

What’s a homeowner to do? Well, first and foremost you need to determine if it’s time to replace your current water heater. Take this simple few question quiz to help you determine if you need to think about replacing your water heater. Go ahead, I’ll wait right here. Read more

November 23, 2015/8 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

31 Days of Handy Home Fixes, energy conservation, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, Home Maintenance, Plumbing, repair

Protect Pipes from Freezing

How to Protect Your Pipes from Freezing | Pretty Handy Girl

In the same vein as Monday’s post about adding insulation, let’s continue preparing for winter. While you are under the house looking at insulation, take notice of your water pipes. Are they insulated too? If not, it’s important to protect your water pipes with foam insulation to prevent them from freezing. Here in North Carolina, we’ve been experiencing more winters with temperatures dipping below freezing and sometimes in the single digits.

Having a water pipe freeze and burst is not a disaster I wish to experience. Water leaks, mold, termite damage and asbestos are plenty of experiences for one handy girl. Given my experience with water leaks, I will do everything I can to prevent future leaks (including installing water leak detectors.)

Ready to learn How to Protect Water Pipes from Freezing? This is one of the easiest tutorials I’ve written. Honest.

Materials:
(contains affiliate links)

Instructions:

If you are venturing into the crawlspace, protect your knees. As a brand ambassador for Duluth Trading Company, I was overjoyed to try these Duluth Trading Company cargo pants with knee pad sleeves. They are now my favorite work pants and I wear them with the inserted knee pads anytime I have to go under the house.

Locate any unprotected water pipes (look for copper, white, red, blue or gray pipes about 3/4 – 1 inch in diameter).

Measure the length of the exposed pipe. Read more

October 30, 2015/8 Comments/by Brittany Bailey