Plumbing
Faucet repairs, pipe fixes, toilet troubleshooting, and water heater maintenance.
15 guides
Easy30 minHow to Fix a Dripping Faucet
A dripping faucet wastes up to 3,000 gallons of water per year and can add $20 or more to your monthly water bill. The fix is almost always a worn cartridge, washer, or O-ring — parts that cost under $10 and take 20-30 minutes to replace with basic tools.
Easy30 minHow to Unclog a Drain
A slow or fully blocked drain is one of the most common household plumbing issues — and usually one of the cheapest to fix yourself. Most clogs can be cleared in under 30 minutes with tools you already own, saving the $150-300 a plumber would charge for the same job.
Easy1h 15mHow to Replace a Bathroom Faucet
Swapping a tired bathroom faucet for a fresh one is one of the highest-impact DIY upgrades in the house — a $60 to $150 fixture and 60 to 90 minutes of work transforms how a bathroom feels and quietly fixes years of drips, mineral staining, and a wobbly handle. The single trick that separates a 90-minute project from a four-hour Saturday is owning a basin wrench (about $15); without one, the mounting nuts six inches up inside the cabinet are essentially out of reach.
Easy40 minHow to Fix a Leaky Pipe Joint
A weeping pipe joint under the sink is one of the most common — and cheapest — plumbing repairs you'll ever make. A roll of Teflon tape and a small tube of pipe joint compound cost under $10 and will fix the vast majority of threaded and compression joint leaks in 30 to 45 minutes, saving you the $150 to $400 a plumber would charge for the same trip.
Easy30 minHow to Replace a Shower Head and Shower Arm
Swapping just the shower head is a 10-minute job, but if the arm (the pipe curving out of the wall) is corroded, leaking, or the wrong length for a new rain head, you'll want to replace both. The whole job costs under $50 and takes half an hour — the one trick that separates a clean swap from a flooded wall is holding the arm steady so it doesn't snap off inside the tile. This guide covers removing a stuck arm, prepping the in-wall fitting, taping the threads right, and testing leak-free.
Easy25 minHow to Replace a Toilet Flapper Valve
A worn-out flapper is the cause of roughly 90% of "phantom flush" and running-toilet problems, and replacing it is the single cheapest plumbing fix in the house — $5 to $15 for a new flapper and 20 minutes of your time. A leaking flapper wastes 200 gallons of water per day at the high end, which can add $30 to $50 a month to a typical water bill. This guide covers sizing the right replacement, cleaning the valve seat so the new flapper actually seals, and dialing in the chain length so the toilet stops running for good.
Easy45 minHow to Unclog a Toilet Without a Plunger
It's 11 PM, the toilet won't flush, and the plunger is at your in-laws' house. Dish soap and a gallon of hot tap water will clear most clogs in 30 minutes for about a dollar — no plumber, no panic, no overflowing bowl. This guide walks through stopping the water first, the dish-soap method, the baking-soda-and-vinegar backup, and the wire-hanger snake for stubborn clogs, plus the boiling-water mistake that cracks porcelain and turns a $1 fix into a $400 toilet replacement.
Easy1h 30mHow to Re-Caulk a Bathtub or Shower Surround
Mildewed, cracked, or peeling caulk around a bathtub isn't just ugly — it's letting water reach the drywall and studs behind the wall, which turns a $10 caulk job into a thousand-dollar tile-and-framing repair. This guide walks through removing the old caulk completely, treating mold, masking and tooling a clean single bead of 100% silicone, and the curing schedule that keeps the new joint waterproof for years.
Easy25 minHow to Fix a Running Toilet
A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day, adding $50 or more to your monthly water bill. The fix almost always involves one of three cheap parts — the flapper, fill valve, or float — and takes under 30 minutes with no special skills required.
Easy45 minHow to Repair a Shower Diverter Valve
When you pull the diverter knob and water still pours from the tub spout instead of the showerhead, the fix is usually a worn washer or mineral buildup — not a $200 plumber visit. This guide covers the three most common diverter types (tub spout, three-valve, and two-valve) and walks you through cleaning, replacing washers, and swapping the diverter if needed, all in under an hour with basic tools.
Medium1 hrHow to Install a Water Shut-Off Valve
Every sink, toilet, and appliance water line should have its own shut-off valve so you can kill the water to one fixture without shutting down the whole house. Installing a compression-fit quarter-turn ball valve on an existing copper or CPVC line is a straightforward job that takes about an hour and costs under $15 in parts — compared to $150-300 for a plumber call. This guide covers the most common scenario: replacing an old gate valve or adding a new valve under a sink or behind a toilet.
Easy15 minHow to Replace a Shower Head
Swapping out a shower head is one of the simplest plumbing upgrades you can do — no special tools, no shutting off the main water supply, and it takes about 15 minutes. A modern low-flow shower head can cut your water usage by 40% while actually improving pressure, saving $70+ per year on water and energy bills.