DIY Life

Do you have a toilet that won't stop running? Do you constantly have to jiggle the handle, or remind other people to do so? That constant running water is adding up to big bucks on your water bill, not to mention the many gallons or water that are being wasted. You would never let your sink run all day and night, most of us even turn off the water while we are brushing our teeth, so why let the toilet continually waste water?

A running toilet can waste two gallons of water per minute, while a silent leak in a toilet can waste up to 7,000 gallons of water per month.

If you are not sure if your toilet is running, turn off the tap behind your toilet. Check the water level in the tank. Leave it for a few hours and then recheck the tank. If the water level has dropped, you have a problem.

There are only so many things that can go wrong inside of your toilet. Fixing your toilet is inexpensive and easy. So easy, in fact, that it doesn't even require tools!

MizPee is a public toilet finder. If you're out, and need a bathroom, just search MizPee for the closest one. You'll be able to find reviews, and choose the cleanest one, depending on how urgently you need it.

The listings will also let you know if the venue requires you to make a purchase. This way you won't end up doing the pee-dance while standing in line for a coffee you don't even want, just so that you can use their bathroom. Alternatively, if you are craving that mocha, look in their deal section, because that same coffee shop just might have a discount.

As a fun little extra, check out their toilet trivia. So far, I've learned that the average person spends three years of their life on the toilet! The current trivia asks which stall is the cleanest choice. My vote goes with the one furthest from the door, but we'll see if I'm right come Monday when the answer is posted.

I haven't quite decided if this is kind of cool, or totally ridiculous. What's your verdict?

[via:Dumb Little Man]

There's no such thing as a good sewer odor, right? If there's a persistent, but unexplained, stink emanating from your bathroom the cause could be sewer gas. Sewer gas is supposed to stay down inside your municipal sewer system or private septic tank. Problems occur when it finds its way back up into the house via your toilet. Eeew.

Surprise, surprise. Plumbing experts say sewer gas is something you should take care of, and not just for the obvious reason that the stink is absolutely revolting. Did you know that sewer gas is toxic when breathed in repeatedly? It's also associated with a buildup of methane gas, which is explosive. Eeek! Now that's a potty problem!

According to trusty home repair extraordinaire, Tim "Ask the Builder" Carter, it's best to locate the root cause of the problem as soon as possible. Tim says the cause of the stink is usually a blockage or a crack in the plumbing drain line or vent pipe, with the latter being a lot harder to detect. Plumbers can find the leaks by forcing colored smoke from a smoke generating machine through the pipes. Cool!

Read more at AskTheBuilder.com.

We've all been there: that rising feeling of dread and suspense. No, I'm not talking about one of Jean-Paul Sartre's books. I'm talking about when we flush the toilet and all of a sudden the bowl's contents slowly start moving in completely the wrong direction. What to do?

The first thing, since you're standing right there anyway, is to start kicking the base of the toilet with your foot. After all, the stuff wants to go down, and sometimes all it takes is a helping hand (or foot) to dislodge things and help the process along.

The next thing to try is the trusty old plunger. There are times when smooth, slow strokes will do the trick. Other times it takes quick, sharp jabs.

And if that doesn't work, get to the hardware store and pick up a toilet auger. It's really a snake, but inside a long pole with a hand crank on the end. It works every time and costs much less than a plumber's service call.

Yesterday we talked about going green in the bathroom and the many ways that we can reduce our water consumption. It is suggested that we switch to low-flush toilets. This is probably the most recommended solution, and many cities even offer credits and rebates toward the purchase.

Ultimately, the goal is to go green, so can the same result be achieved with the old toilet while avoiding a new purchase -- and its inevitable end in the landfill? Yes, it can, thanks to this article teaching us how to convert any toilet into a low flush toilet.

The conversion is dead simple. All you do is fill a half gallon container part way with pebbles or other heavy material, then top it off with water. Put the jug in your toilet tank, where it will displace the water. You'll save a half gallon of water per flush. That's a significant savings in each household; just imagine if your neighbors got on board too! Have a read through the full instructions and the helpful tips, then pass it on to a friend.

[via: Lifehacker]

One of our four cats seems to love to play with the toilet paper. I've had this problem before but they usually grow out of it. I have been throwing away shredded toilet paper or re-rolling half of a roll more frequently lately so it was time to figure out a way to stop it.

I know that one solution is to not put the toilet paper on the dispenser. But that simply is not an option for me. I'm even compulsive about which way the roll is put on the spindle.

Just use a long rubber band and wrap it around the ends of the holder. A few weeks of that and most cats should lose interest and move on to play with other things that they shouldn't. (Perhaps you'll need a tip on keeping your cat out of houseplant dirt.)

How green is your bathroom? I thought I was doing pretty good, since I abandoned my chemical rich cleaners for baking soda and vinegar the way Anna recommends. This change is important, but only one small step towards an eco-friendly bathroom.

The video above explains how to go green in the bathroom by conserving water, minimizing energy usage, adding plants, and choosing natural products. Here's what you'll need:

1. Fluorescent light bulbs
2. Plants
3. Food coloring
4. Natural hair and body care products
5. Vinegar
6. Baking soda
7. Low flow shower-head
8. Low flow toilet

Replacing your light bulbs and bringing in a plant are cheap, quick, and effective changes. Making the change-over to a low-flow shower head and toilet can be a bit more costly. If you're contemplating a low-flow shower head, first consider Ryan's pros and cons list. He suggests an alternative to the costly purchase by opening the valve partially, allowing less water to pass through.

The low-flow toilet is another source of water conservation and financial savings. Some municipalities even offer partial rebates on their purchase. If you're not sure where to start looking for the right low-flow toilet, this article, The best low-flow toilets will point you in the right direction.

If you're still not convinced that you want to buy a new one, and this eco-friendly bathroom hasn't quite scratched your DIY itch, then Gary has a project for you. He points us to a toilet hack that allows you to pre-use the water that fills your toilet tank after flushing.

What changes have you made towards a greener bathroom?

Is it difficult to find enthusiasm about cleaning the bathroom? Are you living in a place that someone else rented or owned before you? If you said yes to both, try not to think about what may have happened in your bathroom before you moved in. Let's just get to making that place feel like you and your family or friends are the only contaminants.

Here are five inexpensive things you can do to make your bathroom truly feel like it is yours. Doing these will not make the room look new but it will make it feel much more new to you. You'll probably want to wear gloves for most of these. Absent from this list are the obvious cleaning chores that you should be doing regularly -- you know, things like scrubbing the toilet and washing the shower curtain every now and then.

If you've got an older toilet in your house (not the High efficiency (HET) models), you're using more water per flush than necessary, which depletes resources and your wallet. Here's a simple trick that costs less than installing a new toilet.

Fill an old, plastic soda bottle with water and place it inside the tank. Let's say your family flushes the toilet five times a day. Since the bottle displaces exactly 2 liters of water, that's 10 liters you won't be pulling into your house (or paying for!).

Again, don't try this with a HET. But those of us with older models may give it a try.

There's an absolutely marvelous plumbing hack on the Instructables site which is worthy of your time. The blogger gives us a very understandable synopsis of how to pre-use the water which refills your toilet tank after flushing.

The principle is that the incoming water can be utilized for hand washing prior to it entering the toilet tank reservoir overflow tube. While the blogger's working model is aesthetically crude, the concept is crystal clear in all it's glory. This strategy is common knowledge in eastern countries. I love this idea but I would build my toilet tank sink on a small stand right next to the toilet tank.

Somewhere along the way, all our fathers became the same. Anyone who laughs at Chevy Case in National Lampoon Christmas Vacation, John Candy in The Great Outdoors, or Darren McGavin in A Christmas Story recognizes those iconic fathers as representations of our own. Each one of our fathers is determined to fix things himself, come hell or high water, and when I started Do-It-Yourself stuff around my own home, I had visions of my own "Old Man" tinkering with things around the house to "improve" them. However, when he came to visit a few weeks ago, I was reminded how I learned the value of home-improvement from my Dad. A lesson that is not easily forgotten.

Japanese toilets are just... different from American toilets. Although there are many gory details that don't bear discussion here (different bowl designs, the continuing existence of squat toilets, etc.), Americans and Europeans returning from stays in Japan often rhapsodize about the technologically advanced toilets that are common there; if you have any interest in modern Japanese culture, the topic of toilets tends to come up in the early stages of your education. Heated seats, automatic flushes, cleansing sprays, music, you name it: these toilets are feature-laden, but for American homeowners, they're strictly a luxury item.

This did not stop a guy named Joe from rigging his own automatic flushing system, and making a YouTube video about it. Yes, these have been around in public bathrooms for years, but when was the last time you saw one in the average home? This toilet is not truly automatic, as it doesn't have a motion sensor, but it does allow for a slow-flushing toilet to be flushed more quickly. It also tracks the number of flushes. Check it out after the break.