You just woke up and you’re about to brush your teeth. You stick your brush under the tap, turn the water on, and… a stream of brown, cloudy mush drizzles out.  Rust colored water isn’t normally harmful but it can be disturbing.  The causes can range from corroded pipes to mineral build up to utility company … [Read more...]

A loose or wiggly toilet handle can be annoying. A toilet handle not flushing at all is even worse. Luckily, a loose toilet handle is a minor toilet problem and one that’s usually easy to fix. Here’s how you can fix a broken toilet handle, either by tightening or replacing it. How to Tighten a Toilet … [Read more...]

Pipes don’t last forever. Even copper pipes, despite their 50+ year lifespan, develop corrosion over time and in certain conditions. How does pipe corrosion affect your plumbing and your home’s water? And how do you prevent your pipes from corroding? Corrosion affects different types of pipes in different ways. Cast … [Read more...]

As the old saying goes - there’s more than one way to unclog a toilet. OK, we just made that up but we’re here to prove it’s true. Sure, we love our plunger, but what if you don’t have one? Have you tried soap or baking soda? Follow our detailed instructions for how to unclog a toilet with a plunger but stick around … [Read more...]

Stuck in that awkward plumbing limbo where your toilet won’t flush? Fear not. We’re here to explain the most common reasons your toilet may not be flushing and how you can fix them. If you live in L.A., your local plumbers at Mike Diamond are always ready to help. Your toilet may be clogged (even if you can’t see … [Read more...]

Modern copper pipes should last for 20 years or more. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, thanks to a particularly pernicious plumbing problem known as pinhole leaking. Pinhole leaks only occur in copper pipe. Under the right (worst) conditions, copper pipe may develop pinhole leaks within only two years of … [Read more...]

Garbage disposals usually leak from three places: the top, the pipe connections, and the bottom. To find out if your disposal is leaking, check each common place where leaks start. Use a flashlight to check for condensation, puddling, and other signs of water accumulation on or beneath your disposal. Each common … [Read more...]

You can use different kinds of tape to solve different plumbing leak problems. Use pipe thread tape, sometimes called “Teflon” or “Plumber’s” pipe, to fix leaking pipe joints. Use silicone, sometimes called “self-amalgamating,” “self-fusing,” or “leak repair” tape, to fix hairline cracks or other non-joint pipe … [Read more...]

You have a running toilet for one of two reasons: Either water is leaking from the tank into the bowl, or the fill tube is refilling too much water into the tank, activating its overflow tube. You should be able to stop either problem quickly by adjusting the flapper, float, or tubes. Running toilets tend to be … [Read more...]