Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [drain]

Use this tag for plumbing-related drains such as under sinks, including when something is clogged it is helpful to include this so it is clear it is a drain clog.

Use this tag for plumbing-related drains such as under sinks, including when something is clogged it is helpful to include this so it is clear it is a drain clog.

1241 questions
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5 answers

Why does my dishwasher back up into the sink, but running the disposal allows it to drain?

When my dishwasher runs the kitchen sink backs up. I have a two tub sink and only the side nearest the dishwasher with the garbage disposer backs up. Running the disposal for a few seconds causes the sink to drain. I'm not sure what to look at to…
Freiheit
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5 answers

Good way to remove something from a bathroom sink overflow drain?

My wife dropped an earring down the overflow drain of her bathroom sink. The earring is about 1" in diameter, so the hole which goes from the overflow to the main drain is too small for it to pass through. The earring is silver, so it's…
LarryBud
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23
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7 answers

Is it safe to flush newspaper down the toilet?

Recently an Australian newspaper printed several blank pages to help readers who may have run out of toilet paper. Would it be safe to flush pieces of newspaper down the toilet?
pacoverflow
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22
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2 answers

Is my fast-draining, gurgling sink the cause of sewer smells?

My laundry has a washing machine, a large sink, a toilet and a small hand basin. The washing machine drains into the large sink. We sometimes notice a sewer-like smell in the laundry. I'm trying to figure out what might be causing it. I read this…
OutstandingBill
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9 answers

What can I do about my drains constantly getting blocked?

The one thing I have tried to do about this is use those foaming and non-foaming drain unblockers regularly. That has just been money down the drain, pardon the pun. I suspect that unblockers only work if the blockage is in trap (the first bendy bit…
RomanSt
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18
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4 answers

French Drain: Why do I need 3" of rock bedding beneath the pipe?

I'm having issues with a leaky basement in the Portland area. There's dirt, mud, and vegetation outside of my foundation wall, and it's absorbing lots of rainwater. 4 feet of it is inside my property line, but my neighbor has a wide grassy driveway…
M -
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17
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10 answers

What can cause a never-frozen indoor copper drain pipe to crack?

The 1-1/2" copper waste pipe than runs from our kitchen just up and cracked two days ago along its length, and for no apparent reason. The crack is in a section of pipe that runs vertically through the kitchen floor down into the basement, where it…
mrblint
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4 answers

How can I refill the toilet after the water has evaporated from disuse?

My toilet bowl and tank water appear to have evaporated after several weeks of disuse. How should I go about getting water in them again? I haven't tried anything yet because I didn't want to do the wrong thing.
Jason
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15
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4 answers

What is this mysterious pipe in my back yard?

There's a plastic pipe with a vent cover in my back yard that runs to a green cap in the middle of the yard. What is this for? I don't have a septic tank. Update: this picture shows the entire length of the pipe that I'm aware of. The green cap…
Dennis
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15
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2 answers

Does a plumbing vent need to penetrate the roof? (Can it penetrate a wall?)

We're going to move our washer/dryer to the garage (the front loader needs to sit on concrete to keep it from shaking our house to the ground). I'll need to add a washer drain to the garage for the washer. Because this will need a p-trap, my…
DA01
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3 answers

Is it safe to have a drain in the floor out to the septic tank with no trap?

I had a contractor add an additional bath. When we were planning out the project, he mentioned my lack of a water heater valve drain pan. Instead, he installed a drain directly into the septic line that runs from the new bathroom (toilet/sinks/tub)…
Austin Seward
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14
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1 answer

Why would a P-Trap be required before an air gap for a refrigerator drain?

Background: A walk-in refrigerator with a remote refrigeration system includes an evaporator coil that requires a drain. The typical installation is an indirect drain (terminating above a funnel drain or floor sink to provide an air gap). Location:…
AWaddington
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14
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4 answers

Strange suction in toilet and sink, like a vacuum in the sewer pulling the water out

This is hard to explain.. But I was sitting in my bedroom when all of a sudden my toilet started draining, then the sinks in the bathroom started pulling air in, then when the water from the toilet drained, it started suctioning air down the toilet…
Matt
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14
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3 answers

Can anyone tell me what kind of drain this is?

I found this drain in my basement in the middle of a raised rectangle of concrete. Its supposed to be for a shower the previous owner installed. I have never seen this drain type. Looking for answers for what kind of drain it is and why it would…
Eugenio Coronado
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4 answers

How can I reseal a shower drain on a pre-formed shower base?

The shower drain in my first-floor bathroom leaks. Based on looking from the basement below, it seems the leak is at the point where the drain assembly should clamp to the shower base (which is pre-formed fiberglass/plastic). This is confirmed by…
Shimon Rura
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