Quick Work

Here’s a way to replace ballcocks without having to fully drain toilet tanks. Prep the new ballcock with a shank washer and set it within reach of your right hand. Remove the old supply. Remove the old ballcock nut while holding old ballcock in place. Quickly remove the old ballcock with right hand; cover shank hole on the toilet tank with left hand at the same time. Quickly insert the new ballcock through the shank hole and tighten the ballcock nut. Put on a new supply, wipe up with a rag and you are done. Total time is five minutes.
Dwight Duncan
S&S Plumbing Co.
Boston, Mass.

EZ Clean

Copper stub-outs will often be covered with paint at trim-out time. I’ve found that using a 6-inch or so piece of unreemed 3/4-inch hard copper pipe works fine to clean paint off by sliding it over the stub-out. This saves time cleaning and also saves on sand cloth.
Larry Taylor
Taylor Plumbing
Radford, Va.

Lunchtime Cleanup

Ever have your hands smell like rancid grease or sewage after your rubber gloves broke or leaked over the top? You wash and scrub with soap and water and your hands still stink! Try this: After washing your hands well, rinse them twice with a solution of hydrogen peroxide and watch the germs (the source of the odor) bubble up and die. You will be able to eat your sandwich without gagging!
Craig Way
Way & Way Plumbing and Heating Inc.
Medford, Wis.

Send Us Your Tool Tips!

If you have an idea that has saved you time and money, Plumbing & Mechanical would like to share your tip with our readers. You can e-mail your idea directly to PM editor Steve Smith at smiths@bnpmedia.com, or mail it to him c/o PM, 1050 IL Route 83, Suite 200, Bensenville, IL 60106.

PM’s Tool Tips is sponsored by Ridge Tool Co. Reader tips chosen by our editors have a chance to win a RIDGID Tool Prize Package.