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I’m looking at a house that fits a lot of our requirements. However, my only concern is that there’s a sizeable storm drain in front of it. What are the implications of living so close to one? Thanks!

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Here’s a picture of our pickle: https://imgur.com/a/2WifHx5

Hey guys,

Noticed recently that we’ve developed a smell coming from our kitchen sink.

I’ve tried a few things. Foaming sink cleaning bomb thing, baking soda and vinegar as well as slices of lemon with ice cubes (we have a disposal) No good.

I took apart the trap yesterday to check for blockages, all seems well. I gave the pipes a clean too.

Now, we have recently sold our house and I swear, this happened after the buyers sent a guy out to check our sewer line. Could he have caused this? Potential air pocket in the main line perhaps? Definite whiff of rotten eggs/sewer smell.

Any thoughts are welcomed!

Hi all. If this is the incorrect sub I apologize but it seemed the best fit. My wife and I are looking to buy our first home and found the one we like. She knows our would be next door neighbors. Quiet place to run, walk dogs, it’s safe etc. All the things one looks for in a first home for a young couple.

On the sellers disclosure the current owner disclosed that he installed a sump pump and gravel to control moisture. The lot is fairly flat but after talking to 3 other people we know in the neighborhood it seems none of them have a sump pump. I couldn’t get access to the crawl space to look at it as the current owners Great Dane is the size of a small horse and was in the back yard where the access is.

We’ve asked the current owner why it was installed and other than the disclosure stating it was to control moisture he will not give us any other details. He also disclosed that there had been no water damage. This makes me a little nervous. Is this something we should be concerned about?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Sincerely,

A nervous first time home buyer.

Hey guys. I recently bought a house and have since discovered some plumbing issues I’d like to resolve.

A wet bar (aka basement sink) was installed in the basement. It’s roughly located right below our kitchen sink. I noticed that when the dishwasher is running, or wife is using the sink, the basement sink will fill up with water from the upstairs kitchen sink.

I have attached a couple of pictures to help get an idea of what I’m working with. I know it’s dark, so I apologize for the crappy pictures.

My guess to the problem is that the drain pipe for the basement sink is too close to the basement floor and that if the main drain can’t offload all the water from the kitchen, it fills up the basement drain and then the sink.

My question though, is how do I fix it?

http://imgur.com/gallery/WTqb3iY

Thanks for your time!

So I just moved into a new apartment and the drain was clogged in the bathroom shortly after I moved in. I was busy all week and any home improvement store is way out of my way. I looked up a video online about removing the p valve and shoving newspaper down the drain, but turns out my p valve is glued into the sink. So I ended up duct taping three pencils together and creating a zipper type object and it worked lmao. Saved me time and a trip to the store.

I’m on the edge and being a miser doesn’t help! I don’t want to spend hundreds or maybe thousand dollars when I call a plumber. Well at least unless I have tried everything can.

I have two sinks in the bathroom, a commode and a bathtub.

There this smell that comes periodically but I can’t find a pattern.

I used to think it was from the bath tub so I used to periodically put baking soda in the bath drain. I thought it helped but now it smells even when I have not used the bathtub.

So I have tried putting baking soda in the sink drains. But I don’t know if that’s helping.

Sometimes I think the smell comes when the toilet is used.

The smell goes away in few hours but comes back when one of toilet, sinks or bathtub is used.

The problem is I can’t tell where it is coming from. I have put my nose to the drains and the base of the toilet but the smell is so strong that I I just can’t tell where it is coming from.

And I don’t even know how to describe the smell. I have never smelled sewer gas, mold/mildew anywhere else.

The smell is not like poop , nor it is like hydrogen sulfide which I think I would recognize from chemistry experiments. I have no idea how a rotten egg smells.

I have tried different cleaners like drano, bleach , scrubbing bubbles for the bathtub. I think baking soda helps but I don’t know the source of smell.

Please help me from going on insane!

I bought a house last year that has a 12 year American Water Heater 50-gal with a date of 2004. Seems to be ok as far as I can tell, meaning it makes hot water and it isn’t leaking. Not sure if previous owner flushed it or did any kind of maintenance, but I would imagine probably not. I live in NYC so we don’t have hard water but this is something I’m not sure I should gamble with considering I have a finished basement and no floor drains/trap. I know I should probably check the anode rod and possibly try and flush it but I’m afraid to even touch it and open up a can of worms. I’ve heard that after a while the sediment can be the only thing holding it together and that trying to flush it when it’s already too late will likely put the final nail in the coffin.

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Should I start looking to replace this thing immediately or are there some non-destructive ways of determining this heater’s health? It seems the going rate for a water heater replacement around here is about $1200. It wont kill me but I’ve had a lot of first-year expenses this year and would like to put this off for a little while (like maybe tax return season) if it’s safe to.

https://imgur.com/gallery/M3v3XLY

See link above for pics

My shower started leaking behind the wall. And I’m not too sure how to go about repairing the leak. The leak is coming from the “downspout pipe” which would come down from the diverter to fill up the bathtub. The leak is coming from the side of the copper pipe where the 90 degree curve is located. Every time the water is ran, water sprays out of the side of the pipe, and then you pull the tab on the bathtub spout to initiate the shower head spray,,,the water really sprays out of the leak dramatically. Any advice or professional opinions would be appreciated.

I have a feeling that my only option would be to have to rip off tiles and cut through the drywall in order to replace the pipe assembly, but I’m hoping someone says otherwise.

Thanks!

Not sure if this was the right place to ask this, but would the Army’s plumbing MOS be a good idea to learn how to become a steamfitter/pipe fitter?

Any recommendations on how I can get started on besides enlisting?