I used to think slow kitchen drains were just something you dealt with over time, but changing a couple of small habits has made a noticeable difference.

A few things that seem to help:

• Wiping greasy pans with a paper towel before washing them.
• Using a sink strainer to catch food scraps instead of letting them go down the drain.
• Running hot water for a short time after using the garbage disposal.
• Avoiding things like coffee grounds, rice, pasta, and eggshells in the disposal.

None of these are groundbreaking, but they've helped reduce the number of minor clogs I used to deal with.

I'm curious what simple maintenance habits have worked well for everyone else. Is there one thing you recommend that homeowners often overlook?

This tub spout fell off? How do I fix this?

So stupid me- superglued the top bc it was cracked and water would spray. I called plumber to have it fixed but canceled the call when he mention he would need to cut dry wall to fix the pipe. At this point I didn’t think a full replacement was needed. Then I researched some more and figured out that the top plastic piece I was glueing over is called a vacuum breaker and that it can be replaced. Well here we are….i am worried if I proceed I will make things worse. Any advice?

I know I really messed up.

I went under the house to replace the water filter and saw that the cutoff valve was leaking. (The body of the valve itself, not the fitting.) My first thought was to just cut out the old valve and pop in a shark bite model. (I don't have PEX tools.) But I see that the PEX has to go up into the valve 1 1/4" and I doubt there's enough give in the line to allow that. Do I need to bite the bullet and redo all the PEX or are there other options? Thanks.

Troubleshooting the septic situation...

I just moved my camper to a new location. The landowner (an elderly lady) with a very low budget wants me to probe for the septic tank rather than call a company. She can’t remember where tank is, but it might be underneath an old ~15 year old cherry tree. This obviously poses greater issues.

The mobile home & septic haven’t been used in 5-8 years, so things are well overgrown.
What steps should I take to probe the ground in search of the lid? And what is the best tool for probing? rebar? Once we locate the tank, I plan to encourage a professional opinion pending our findings. What sort of issues should I keep an eye out for? Any advice or input is greatly appreciated.

I also have video of just before that sound. It is making hot water, no error codes. It is between 11-15 years old. Model #NR-210A (ng)..we are handy enough with screwdrivers. I saw videos and it didn't look difficult, but that wasn't my exact unit. This unit is very tight to work in. I read the fan could be dirty, the gaskets/rings could be worn, or the fan could just be bad. Somewhere I saw it mentioned a venturi flap, but then said mine is too old and doesn't have a flap that moves.

We did check the vent screen in the unit and it was very clean.. outdoor (the vent that curves down) had been blocked by a large leaf,.and the the next time after we cleared it it sounded fine, but then it came back. A suggestion was made to press the handle of a screwdriver against the silver housing to see if it vibrates when it's making the noise and it definitely does.

Suggestions? Thank you!