In 1884, 25 nations met in Washington, D.C. and set up time zones for the world. They chose the village of Greenwich, England, longitude zero as the prime meridian and keeper of the world's time. Thus, today we have "Greenwich Mean Time." However, at your house with holidays just around the corner, today probably means "fix-and-clean time." Got kitchen and bath drains with drips and leaks? The clock is ticking and you know what that means. Don't even think of trying to remove, clean and replace the old pipes. Instead take all the old parts down to the hardware store and buy exact match replacements for each one. When you reassemble them, leave the slip-joint connections loose until everything is lined up and in place. Then go back and tighten them up, first by hand and then just employing one turn with a wrench. If it still leaks or drips, a bit more twist will do the trick. And that's the On The House tip for today.