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Your home may contain an odd collection of pipes, with some runs being made of one material, and other runs being made of other materials. Often, a mixture of materials can signal problems that may have been addressed by former owners of your home in Boston. Plumbing materials have changed

Last week, I talked about a common plumbing problem Boston homeowners may face, the venerable clog. Most clogs are caused by attempting to flush too much material through the trapway. These kinds of clogs can be relieved with plunging. In other cases, an object becomes lodged in the trapway and

Toilets give years of dependable and often maintenance-free service, so when problems arise, some homeowners don’t know what to do. Mechanically speaking, toilets are pretty simple devices, which is why they don’t often develop serious problems. Here are a few common toilet problems Boston homeowners may encounter, and what you

If you’re looking for an easy way to save money and improve the performance of your Boston plumbing system, consider insulating your pipes. Insulation is highly cost-effective, easy-to-do and can help your hot water stay hotter and your cold water stay colder. Insulting your pipes also doesn’t take any special

For most people in Boston, water pressure inside the home isn’t a big concern, unless of course something’s wrong with the water pressure! Water pressure is the force with which water is moved through the water supply system. In municipalities, water pressure needs to be relatively high – perhaps 200

The good news is that I’m not in the shower this week, but I am still in the bathroom. Virtually, that is. A couple of weeks ago, I profiled a couple of low-flow showerheads that are designed to save water. This week, I’m featuring a dual-flush valve kit that can

Last week, I wrote about a nice little safety valve that will throttle your hot water supply in the shower if the temperature exceeds 115°F. The device is designed to protect people from a sudden increase in hot water temperature. This week, I’m still in the shower, but I’m thinking

Here’s a great idea that may add a bit of safety to an older home in Boston. Plumbing in newer homes is usually designed to help prevent hot water scalding. Often, newer plumbing designs include a pressure balance (to prevent the cold water from dropping out) or an anti-scalding device

For the last two weeks, I’ve examined the perspective of cost and operational efficiency of tankless hot water systems. Boston homeowners may not find the savings they were looking for from tankless hot water, but there are benefits other than those you can measure in out-of-pocket terms. Tankless hot water

Last week, I started a discussion about tankless water heaters. Boston homeowners are beginning to consider tankless water heaters as a green replacement for their conventional hot water systems. In last week’s post, I covered the issue of cost, since this is one of the biggest considerations for homeowners. This