An early American bath? An unheard-of luxury to an authentic early American, but today’s consumers can carry their favorite decor into the bathroom. You can have bath fixtures that gibe with early American, arts and crafts, Shaker, Victorian or classical decorating styles, with fixture manufacturers venturing beyond the ordinary tub, sink and toilet combinations of recent memory.

In the past, plumbing fixtures had limited styling, so most consumers let their builder or plumber choose a fixture for them. The last 20 years, however, have seen far more sophisticated detailing and styling that allows homeowners to carry the theme of the rest of the home into the bath. Go to a professional plumbing contractor if you want to take advantage of this trend.

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A running toilet will run up your water bill faster than you think. And there’s no reason to let this problem go. It’s a quick and easy fix that over the course of a lifetime you’ll have to make many times. In fact, all the parts of a toilet are not only simple to replace, they’re inexpensive as well.

If you understand how a toilet works, it will eliminate the confusion about which part needs replacing. When you flush a toilet the rod connecting to the handle lifts the tank ball. On some toilets, it’s a flapper rather than a ball. Either way, this action opens the drain at the bottom of the tank and the water drains out of the tank into the toilet bowl.

The force of the water flowing out of the tank directs the tank ball, or flapper, back into place. Inside the tank, there is a float that rises and falls with the water level in the tank. When the float lowers as the water goes down, it opens the water supply inlet valve. As water enters through the inlet valve, and the tank begins to refill, some water is directed through a tube into the overflow pipe and down into the bowl. When the tank fills with water, the float rises until it trips off the water supply inlet valve, completing the flush.

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