Plumbing & Water

Efficient toilets, fixtures and water management

Guide

A  copper drain water heat recovery unit in a residential plumbing stack.

Drain Water Heat Recovery: Efficient Energy Recycling

Reduce water heating costs by up to 40% with drain water heat recovery. This guide covers vertical installations and horizontal units for slab on grade homes. Drain water heat recovery: a homeowner's & pro's guide Drain water heat recovery (DWHR) is a passive energy-saving technology that captures heat from gray…

An 8-gallon unit can often suffice for households with low-flow fixtures and qui

Sizing hot water tanks, why smaller is often smarter

Learn why a 60-gallon tank is often overkill. This guide explores recovery rates, standby loss, and how downsizing your water heater can accelerate home decarbonization while saving money. When it comes to hot water tanks, size isn't everything! Determining the ideal capacity for a hot water tank is a critical step…

Composting Toilets Guide: Types, Maintenance and Legal Permits

Composting Toilets Buyers Guide 2026: The Types, Maintenance Requirements and Legal Permits

Discover how composting toilets work, compare self-contained and centralized models, and navigate the legal requirements for off-grid homes, tiny houses, and ADUs. Composting toilets: a homeowner's & pro's guide For off-grid living, tiny houses, and sustainable residential projects, the composting toilet has evolved…

How To Do Basic DIY Plumbing Repairs On Clogged Sinks

How to Troubleshoot and Fix a Clogged Sink Drain - Learn Easy DIY Plumbing Repairs

If your sink is still plugged after trying plungers and drain cleaners, a simple DIY plumbing repair could save you from calling a plumber, save money and bring a sense of strange satisfaction. How to repair a clogged sink drain Has your kitchen drain started to drain slowly, or gotten to the point where it won’t…

Hydraloop gray water recovery and treatment systems

At last, a compact & easy to maintain solution for gray water recycling & treatment - the Hydraloop

Treating and recovering gray water in the home has always been a bit of a hit and miss affair, with DIY solutions often the only option - until now. At last, a packaged solution for gray water treatment & recycling - the Hydraloop Reducing home water consumption is an increasingly important issue, as the world is…

Smart sewage backup device

Sewage Backup Flood Prevention and Water Leak Notification on Your Mobile Device

How to prevent flooding, sewage backup and leaks from appliances with a couple of 'smart' devices. Preventing flood damage in basements is a hot topic as we are regularly seeing the effects of climate change in the form of extreme weather events and unpredictable weather patterns. Snow melt combined with torrential…

Exterior compresssor heat pump water heater

Heat pump water heater with exterior compressor

The SANC02 is the first heat pump water heater available in Canada to use outside air for heating water. Read our in-depth review of this innovative way to save money on hot water. There are many manufacturers of heat pump water heaters on the market, which, rather than heating water with an electric coil as a…

Milwaukee expander tool for Uponor pex tubing

Plumbing just got faster and easier with the Milwaukee ProPEX expander tool - video

Developed to be used with Uponor pex tubing only, the Milwaukee expander tool will shave tons of time off any plumbing job. Traditional pex piping is installed by slipping a metal ring over the exterior of the pipe, then slipping a union or any other joint inside and crimping the ring to hold it in place. It works…

Heat pump hot water heaters, why they're a good idea

How heat pump hot water heaters work and why you should get one

Heat pump water heaters can help cut your hot water energy consumption by close to one third, particularly when partnered with an air source heat pump. Heat pump electric hot water heaters, good or bad idea? Water heaters are generally the biggest energy drain in a home after heating . so Air-to-water heat pump…

Ecodrain greywater heat recovery unit

A new design in greywater heat recovery

Ecodrain is the first company we've seen to turn greywater heat recovery units on their side, making heat recovery option where it might not have been before. Greywater heat recovery for slab on grade homes - is it possible? Sustainable construction is on the move! It seems almost every day a new and innovative…

Reduce water consumption with residential gray water recycling systems

Gray water recycling

Recycling gray water is becoming more and more commonplace. It reduces the burden on urban sewage treatment along with protecting a quickly dwindling natural resource. What is gray water? Or indeed grey water! The term 'gray water recycling' refers to all domestic waste water that is drained from sinks, showers…

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