The Ultimate Plumbing Guide

If you can’t clear a blocked toilet with a plunger, a plumber may be required to use a snake to clear the blockage. Mineral buildup inside the bowl of an older toilet can also cause lazy flushing of an otherwise unblocked toilet. Toilet replacement by a licensed plumber is the best option for older toilets that regularly flush poorly.

A leaking flush valve at the bottom of the toilet tank is one common cause of water that keeps running continually into a toilet tank and bowl. A defective or poorly-adjusted fill valve can also allow water to continue filling the tank without stopping. There’s limited risk of water damage involved in these repairs, so some homeowners tackle it themselves.  A licensed plumber is also an option.

Even a small water leak from the pipe or hose that connects to the toilet tank is serious because it can develop into a large and damaging leak. The water supply will need to be shut off, the connection repaired, then the water turned back on.  Most homeowners require a plumber for this task.

If a leak appears where the toilet tank connects to the back of the bowl, the tank-to-bowl gasket needs to be replaced. The tank will need to be drained and the tank removed from the toilet bowl to install this gasket. Most people hire a plumber for this work.

If water appears where the toilet sits on the floor, a defective toilet ring is probably the cause. Sometimes the water only appears immediately after a flush. The toilet tank will need to be drained, the toilet bowl unbolted from the floor, lifted, a new ring installed, then the toilet and tank replaced. This repair is as complicated as toilet replacement, so most people hire a plumber for the work.

Most toilets have a valve on the pipe connected to the toilet tank and shutting off this valve will stop a toilet from overflowing. If your toilet doesn’t have a shutoff valve, shut off the main water supply valve for your house. Don’t turn this valve back on until the toilet blockage is cleared and the toilet bowl is emptying properly.

Cartridge or washer needs to be replaced. Handy homeowners can do this work themselves, but older faucets often have corroded parts that can break during removal.  Stop and call a plumber if you can’t get things to come apart.  Some faucet manufacturers offer free replacement cartridges or even free replacement faucets. Call customer service before you buy any repair parts.

This is a common bathroom sink problem because soap products and loose hair sometimes build up within bathroom drains. If your sink has a mechanical drain stopper, check to see if the blockage is caused by hair buildup on the horizontal pivot rod a couple of inches below the drain opening. This common problem can be remedied by lifting out the drain stopper and removing hair with your fingers or needlenose pliers.

Water pooling on the bottom of a bathroom vanity cabinet or the floor underneath an open sink is usually caused by leaks where the drain pipe meets the sink, a leaking drain trap plug, or flaws in drain pipe joints. Occasionally under-sink leaks are also caused by a loose or broken drain stopper mechanism or by failed caulking joints that allow splashed water from the countertop to leak in around top-mount sinks. See below. Repairing drain leaks can be more challenging than replacing a faucet cartridge so most homeowners call for professional help.

This mechanism allows the drain to be opened and closed with a knob at the top of the faucet. It’s typically a reliable part of a bathroom sink installation, but problems can still occur. A loose retaining nut securing the horizontal pivot rod can prevent the drain stopper mechanism from working or it can allow waste water to leak under the sink. Tightening the ring around the horizontal pivot rod with your fingers can sometimes eliminate leaks. Replacement drain stopper mechanisms can be purchased separately for DIY repairs or you can call a plumber.

Many bathroom sinks are molded parts of the vanity countertop so there are no caulked joints to leak. But if your sink sits on top of a countertop, and caulking is missing or deteriorated, splashed water can pool and leak around the sink and under it.

Assuming your bathroom drain was installed correctly, odours like this are caused by microbial infection of the drain and possibly the sink overflow passage. A treatment of 3% hydrogen peroxide from a drug store could solve this problem. Pour 500 ml (2 cups) of hydrogen peroxide down the drain at night. If the odour persists the next morning, remove the drain stopper and stuff a rag down the drain to block the overflow passage with the top of the rag remaining above the drain opening.  Fill the overflow passage with hydrogen peroxide and let it sit for two hours before removing the rag.

Most showers have a single valve that controls hot and cold operation and a worn valve that allows dripping is the most common shower issue. A handy homeowner can replace the valve after shutting off the water supply, but most people call in a licensed plumber for the work. As with sink faucets, some manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty on shower valves. Call customer service to see if they’ll send you a replacement valve for free, even if you’re hiring a plumber to install it.

Soap and hair buildups are the most common cause of drain problems in a shower. Drain cleaner may work in mild cases, but a plumber is usually required.

This problem is not uncommon. Shower enclosures can leak where the floor meets the walls, or where a door joins to the shower opening. Some showers leak through tile grout on inadequately constructed showers. Although caulking may be able to stop leaks around doors, most leaky shower enclosures need to be rebuilt.

This mechanism allows the drain to be opened and closed with a knob at the top of the faucet. It’s typically a reliable part of a bathroom sink installation, but problems can still occur. A loose retaining nut securing the horizontal pivot rod can prevent the drain stopper mechanism from working or it can allow waste water to leak under the sink. Tightening the ring around the horizontal pivot rod with your fingers can sometimes eliminate leaks. Replacement drain stopper mechanisms can be purchased separately for DIY repairs or you can call a plumber.

This is caused by the same microbial infection that makes bathroom sink drains smell. Pour 500 ml (2 cups) of 3% hydrogen peroxide down the shower drain at night before bed. If the problem is microbial, the odour should be gone in the morning.

Increased ventilation is the cure for this problem. Run exhaust fans for at least 20 minutes after each shower and leave shower doors and curtains open between uses. Mold-resistant paint is effective at discouraging growths on walls and ceilings.

Bathtub faucets and shower heads are part of the same plumbing fixture and operate from the same single or double valves. Replacement is an option for handy homeowners if shut off valves are present, but most people call a plumber for this work.

Soap and hair can cause a restriction in a bathtub drain just as it can in a bathroom sink or shower. Drain cleaner is worth a try, but typically a plumber is required to clear stubborn bath tub drain blockages.

As with sink and shower drains, a bathtub drain can develop the odour of rotten eggs if it becomes infected with microbes. Pour 500 ml (2 cups) of 3% hydrogen peroxide from a drugstore down the drain at bed time and the odour should be gone by morning.

All inset bathtubs rely on caulking to seal the joint between the top of the tub and the surrounding walls. The most difficult part of re-caulking an existing tub is removing the old caulking. Solvents are available to make this easier. Ensure the area to be caulked is clean and dry before following the instructions to apply the new bathroom caulking.  Some homeowners hire a handyman to remove & replace the caulking. The neatest way to apply caulking yourself involves laying down strips of masking tape 3mm or 4mm away from the centre line of the joint. Lay down a bead of caulking, smooth it with a rubber gloved finger dipped in a mixture of dishwashing liquid and water, then peel the masking tape off. The edges of the caulked joint will be perfectly straight and neat.

Increasing ventilation is the way to stop the growth of mold in your bathtub. Run the bathroom exhaust fan for at least 20 minutes after a bath or shower and leave the shower curtain or doors open after use. Mold-resistant silicone caulking is made especially for use around tubs and showers.

This is a common problem with kitchen sinks because of the food debris and grease that sometimes goes down the drain. Drain cleaner liquid can sometimes speed up a slow drain, but many times using a sink plunger or drain snake is necessary. Small plungers made for use with sinks are easy to use, but don’t use a plunger if you’ve already poured drain cleaner down first. Corrosive liquid could splash upwards at you. If you are using a plunger, simply place the mouth over the open drain, then push the plunger handle up and down with quick movements. If this doesn’t work, a drain snake is a coil of stiff metal meant to poke through blockages and open up the drain pipe. The need to open the drain trap to get into the drain with a snake means that most people call a plumber if drain cleaner or a sink plunger doesn’t work.

The most common cause of this problem is a leaking drain pipe joint. Even if you don’t feel comfortable doing a drain pipe repair, take a look under the sink with good light to determine exactly where the leak is coming from. You’ll be able to hire a plumber with more confidence if you know where the problem is coming from.

In-cabinet leaks can also be caused by a faulty water supply connection to the faucet. This is a much more serious leak than just a dripping tap because it can lead to a massive and damaging house flood if the leak gets worse. Modern faucets usually have flexible hoses that connect water supply pipes to faucets, and the fittings that make these connections can be tightened by hand. Shut off the water supply valve feeding the line, then tighten the fitting by hand clockwise. Turn the water back ON again, looking carefully for leaks. If tightening the fitting by hand doesn’t solve the problem, call a plumber. Leave the water turned off until a repair is made.

Splashed water can also leak down into the sink cabinet if the caulking or seal around the sink is defective. Removing and replacing sink caulking can be DIY work, or you can hire a handyman. Plumbers won’t usually do a house call to simply repair faulty caulking, though most will apply caulking if they’re installing a new sink.

This small, separate tap dispense steaming hot water for instant use making coffee, tea, hot chocolate or instant soup. Not many homes have this kind of fixture, but if repair or replacement is required it’s best done by a professional since the work involves plumbing and electrical tasks.

Besides a clogged filter, a malfunctioning drain pump or drain water sensor could be the cause. While plumbers typically install new dishwashers and deal with water supply and drain issues, appliance repair technicians are the people who solve mechanical issues inside the dishwasher.

A pool of water on the floor in front of the door can be caused by overloading the machine so the door doesn’t close properly, but more commonly it indicates a malfunctioning door seal or drain pump.  You can check the seal yourself by looking for cracked, folded or broken sections that allow water to leak, or call an appliance repair technician.

This could be caused by a blocked or clogged supply, or from a water supply pressure that’s too low. A plumber can help you with water supply problems to your fridge, but an appliance repair technician will be needed to fix problems inside the fridge.

This could be caused by a blocked or clogged water supply, but it might also be that the ice maker or the valve controlling water flow into the ice maker is bad. If your fridge delivers water at good pressure from the dispenser, but does not make ice, make sure the ice maker is turned on, and that the metal ice level arm is tilted downwards to the run position. If none of these things get the freezer to make ice, call an appliance repair technician for help. It’s not unusual for ice maker mechanisms to fail. They can often be replaced as a single unit at reasonable prices.

Every home serviced by a municipal water supply will have a pipe entering the house (typically a 3/4” diameter line in the basement), a shutoff valve and a water meter. It’s not enough to just find the valve, but actually try closing it. Most main valves are round knobs that close with clockwise rotation. Try closing the valve to make sure it hasn’t gotten too stiff to move.

If your home is serviced by a private water system, you are responsible for maintaining the pump, pipes, switches, valves, gauge and pressure tank. Has your water stopped flowing? Check to make sure the fuse or breaker supplying the pump isn’t tripped. Replace or reset as needed. All private water systems should also have a pressure gauge near the pressure tank. If the gauge shows pressure between 30 pound-force per square inch (psi) and 60 psi, your system is delivering water. Call a plumber familiar with private water systems for help.

Washing machines are the only appliance that connects to water supply pipes with two short hoses that have female garden hose fittings on both ends. One hose threads onto the hot water supply pipe valve and hot water inlet port on the washing machine, and the other hose connects to the cold supply valve and the cold water inlet port on the washer. All four of these connections require washers and sufficient tightness for leak-free operation. If any of these connections are dripping water, use a pair of pliers to tighten the fittings clockwise no more than 1/8 turn past finger tight. This can be a bit tricky, so it’s recommended that only handy homeowners try this themselves. If the leak persists, shut off the water supply valve, unscrew the garden hose fitting completely, replace the washer, then do the connection back up again, snugged up with pliers.

Assuming the rest of our house has sufficient water pressure, a lack of water at the washing machine could be caused by two things. Most modern washing machines shut themselves down and display a warning code if insufficient water pressure is present. Check to make sure both hot and cold water supply valves are turned all the way ON. Most washing machines also have a screen filter where the water supply hoses connect. Shut off the water supply to the washer, remove the garden hose fittings from the machine, then look inside the port for debris on the inlet screens. Use tweezers and a toothpick to remove the debris. If you have hard water, mineral build up could also be partially blocking the filter screen. Apply vinegar to the filter screen with a spray bottle, let it sit for 30 minutes to dissolve the build up, then use an old tooth brush to remove the minerals. Re-establish the hose connections, turn on the water and test washing machine operation. If your washing machine still displays a code for insufficient water, remove the hoses from the washer again, put the ends in a bucket, then turn the water ON to check flow rate and pressure. If both hot and cold flow seems normal, call an appliance repair technician to look at your washer. If water flow and pressure really are low, have a plumber investigate the cause.

If you see water bubbling up from the main floor drain in your basement, it’s a serious issue. This could be caused by a blockage in the main drain pipe leaving your house, or the entire municipal system could be saturated. This happens most often after heavy rains and will cause sewage to back up in some or all homes in the neighbourhood. If the problem is isolated to your home only, call a plumber and avoid flushing toilets or putting any water down the drain until the problem is resolved. If the problem is caused by a saturation of the municipal system, there’s nothing much anyone can do until the wet conditions subside. The ultimate protection against sewage backup is to have a backwater valve installed on your main drain pipe in the basement floor. This one-way valve allows waste water to leave your home, but not to come back inside.

There are two kinds of outdoor taps: one operates in all four seasons, even during cold winter weather. The other outdoor tap is a three-season installation that only operates when temperatures are above freezing. The year-round tap has a valve inside the home with a long handle mechanism that extends to a knob outdoors. When you turn the valve ON or OFF, you’re turning a shaft that controls the valve that’s inside where it’s above freezing. You know you have a year-round outdoor tap if you can see an air vent extension off the top of the valve, just behind the valve handle. In order to work properly during winter, the water in this year-round valve must be able to drain out completely. Nothing can be connected to it. This is necessary to allow water inside the valve to drain out immediately after use. If you leave, say, a garden hose connected to a year-round tap, trapped water will freeze inside the valve and break it.

Every three-season outdoor tap needs to be drained in the fall, then re-activated in the spring. Start by finding and shutting off the shut-off valve controlling the tap. This is typically in the basement or some other heated part of the home. Next, go outside and open the outdoor tap all the way. Go back indoors, then find and open the small drain cap on the body of the shutoff valve, if your valve has a drain. Opening this drain cap allows the water in the pipe to come out, emptying that portion of the pipe that extends outdoors. Have a small container ready to catch the water as it comes out of the open drain cap. turn the shutoff valve back ON.

A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a permanently installed ventilation appliance that’s now common in new home construction. During operation in winter, HRVs generate internal condensation that must drain away. A plastic tube extending from the bottom of the HRV is the usual approach. The amount of condensed water generated is not large, but it can leak from a faulty connection between the tubing and HRV. Also, the tubing can sometimes get plugged, preventing proper draining from the HRV.

This can be caused by a blockage of the main vent pipe, usually where it exits the roof. This happens most often in regions that get very cold winters. Frost builds up inside the vent pipe as it extends above the roof, and over long cold spells the frost can build up and block the rooftop vent from admitting air. The same thing can be caused by rust building up on the inside of older-style steel vent pipes. If all or most of the drains in your house are slow or emit gurgling sounds as water goes down, you may have a blocked rooftop vent.

Built-in lawn and garden irrigation systems include permanently buried plastic hose connected to small sprinklers, watering nozzles or trickle irrigation lines across your yard. These systems deliver water according to a preset schedule programmed into your system. In cold regions yard irrigation systems get drained before winter, so a failure to operate could be caused by nothing more than a main water feed valve that needs to be turned ON. Home irrigation systems usually use proprietary hardware and fittings. If you need technical help, look for a brand name on your system, then call a service company that’s familiar with your equipment.