Some of the most useful things in a house are the ones you never see: a few inches of water under the sink, a pipe poking through the roof, and the air that moves between them.
Today's lead is the gurgle that tells you one of them stopped doing its job.
Below: why your drain gurgles, the drain snake we'd keep under the sink, why the microwave leaves cold spots, the pink ring that isn't mold, how a thermostat gets fooled, and why indoor air gets worse once the windows close.
Reply and tell us: which drain in your house gurgles the most? We read every one.
This Is Why Your Drain Gurgles
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Under every sink, tub and shower, the pipe dips into a U-shaped bend that stays full of water. That little pool is the trap, and it's what keeps sewer gas out of your house.
Plumbing code calls for a seal of 2 to 4 inches of water, as Rhode Island's version of the International Plumbing Code spells out.
The gurgle is that seal being disturbed. When water rushes down a drain, air has to get into the pipes behind it. Your house gets that air through a vent pipe that runs up through the roof.
When the vent can't supply it, This Old House says the air takes the path of least resistance, often a sink drain. That bubbling sound is air being dragged through the water in the trap.
Why now? This Old House lists leaves, debris, ice, snow and even animals among the things that block a roof vent, and fall delivers plenty of leaves. A partial clog of hair and soap scum can gurgle too, by trapping pockets of air in the drain.
Here's how to tell which one you have:
Notice when it happens. A sink that gurgles when a toilet flushes points to venting, per This Old House.
Check the other drains. One slow drain is usually a clog in that drain.
Watch the toilet bowl while someone flushes a different toilet. A water level that bounces is another venting sign.
Sniff the room. A sewer smell means the seal is being pulled, not just disturbed.
One slow, gurgling drain? Start with a clog fix. If several drains gurgle at once, or the gurgle comes with a sewer smell, call a plumber, since the problem may be in the vent or the main line. Skip the roof unless you're comfortable up there.
Renters, report a gurgle to the landlord. Vents and main lines are theirs. Scroll down for the tool we'd use on a clog.
Worth a Look
The Drain Snake We'd Keep Under the Sink
If the gurgle comes from one slow drain, the Klein Tools 53016 Drum Auger is the one we'd point you to, at $49.98 at time of writing.
It's a 25-foot drum auger with a thin 1/4-inch coil, sized for tub, shower and sink drains. A tri-roller auto-feed pushes the coil out and pulls it back as you crank, so your hands stay off the dirty cable.
Turn it by hand when you want control, or chuck it into a drill when a clog fights back. The handle folds into the drum for storage.
Klein is better known for electricians' tools, and this auger is new to Amazon this year, with only a couple dozen reviews so far. We haven't used it ourselves. The specs come from its Amazon listing.
That said, a snake fixes clogs, not vents. If several drains gurgle together, save the $50 and call a plumber.
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Why Your Microwave Leaves Cold Spots
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A microwave doesn't heat food evenly from the outside in. It heats in patches, which is how a bowl ends up scalding at the rim and cold in the middle.
Nebraska Extension explains why: microwave energy only reaches 1 to 1 1/2 inches into food, where it makes water, fat and sugar molecules vibrate and heat up. Anything deeper warms more slowly, from the heat around it.
That matters for more than taste. The USDA warns that cold spots are where harmful bacteria can survive. Here's the fix, from Nebraska Extension:
Cover the food with a lid or wrap, and vent it so steam can escape.
Stir, rotate or flip it halfway through.
Let it stand at least 3 minutes when the timer ends. The heat keeps spreading while it sits.
Check it with a food thermometer after the standing time, in a couple of spots.
A wide, shallow dish helps too, because more of the food sits inside that inch and a half.
That's also why the turntable isn't enough on its own. It evens out where the energy lands, but it can't push heat any deeper.
Renters, all this needs is your own microwave and a spoon.
The Pink Ring in Your Shower Isn't Mold
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That pink or dark gray film around the shower drain usually isn't mold. The City of Norfolk's utilities department says it's most likely Serratia marcescens, an airborne bacterium that makes a red pigment.
It thrives on moisture, dust and phosphates, which describes most bathrooms. Norfolk adds that pink residue is generally not a water-quality problem, so your tap water isn't the cause. It shows up on toilet waterlines too, since any surface that stays wet will do.
Two odd details from Norfolk: it often shows up during or after a remodel, when dust gets stirred up, and an activated carbon water filter can make it worse by removing the chlorine that normally keeps it down.
To get rid of it:
Clean the spot regularly with a non-abrasive bathroom cleaner. Norfolk warns abrasive cleaners can scratch fixtures, and scratches give it more places to grow.
Finish with a chlorine-based cleaner. Norfolk says chlorine compounds work best.
Wipe the tub and sink dry after use. Norfolk says keeping them dry is what prevents it.
Renters, this one's all yours, and it costs a towel and thirty seconds a day.
How a Sunny Hallway Fools Your Thermostat
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Your thermostat only knows the temperature of the air right around it. If that air isn't typical of the house, the whole house gets heated to the wrong number.
Lennox says the best spot is an interior wall about 4 to 5 feet off the floor, away from windows, direct sunlight, vents, kitchens, lamps, TVs and other electronics.
Here's how a bad spot throws it off:
Sun or a lamp nearby: it reads warmer than the room, so the furnace shuts off before the rest of the house is warm.
A drafty door nearby: Lennox says it senses the cold air and runs the furnace even when the rest of the house is warm.
Too high or too low: high up it catches rising warm air, and low down it catches cooler air near the floor.
Lennox lists the signs: rooms that run hot or cold, short cycling that wears the system, and bills that climb without any change in how you live.
You can test yours for free. Set a thermometer in the room you use most for an evening and compare it with the thermostat. If they disagree, look at what's near the thermostat first: a lamp, a TV, a sunny window. Moving those costs nothing.
Moving the thermostat itself means rewiring, and Lennox recommends a pro. Renters, that part is the landlord's; the lamp is yours.
Why Indoor Air Gets Worse When the Windows Close
Close the windows for winter, and the air inside starts collecting whatever your house gives off. A lot of that is VOCs.
TLDR: VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, are chemicals that escape into the air as gas from certain solids and liquids. That fresh-paint smell is one.
Per the EPA, levels of several of them average 2 to 5 times higher indoors than outdoors. During and right after a job like stripping paint, they can reach 1,000 times outdoor levels.
The usual sources are in most homes: paints and solvents, cleaners and disinfectants, aerosol sprays, air fresheners, moth repellents, building materials and furnishings.
The EPA's fixes are mostly free:
Open a window or run a fan while you use anything that gives off VOCs, even in winter.
Follow the label directions.
Get rid of old, half-used cans of paint and chemicals through your local hazardous-waste drop-off, since gases can leak even from closed containers.
Buy only what you'll use soon.
Never mix household products unless the label says to.
Keep them out of reach of kids and pets.
The shelf of old paint cans in the garage or a closet is a good place to start, and it works the same in a rental.
One quick tap
When did you move into your home?
That's Wednesday: a drain that gurgles, a snake for clogs, the microwave, the pink ring, the thermostat and the air you're shutting in for winter.
If you only do one thing today, run the bathroom sink, flush the toilet, and listen.
Forward this to whoever in your house hears every noise the pipes make.
See you tomorrow.
The Home Wire
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