1. The ball valve is unbalanced.
   Water pressure is too high.
2. The flapper isn't sealed.
   The toilet needs to be replaced.

The valve that seals the water in your toilet's tank is called the flapper because, you guessed it, it flaps up and down. If it doesn't seal down properly the water keeps draining out, which causes the toilet to run in a constant effort to refill the tank. Fix the flapper, stop the running.

1. Main sewer line clog
   Corroded pipes
2. Leaky hose bib
   Frozen lines

If every drain in your house starts gurgling and they start back up into your house, it's a good sign that the entire line has a clog in it out in the main sewer where it connects to your house. That may be an issue the city has to fix for you, but the exact location of the clog needs to be identified.

1. Tree roots in the pipe
   Faulty sump pump
2. Broken P-trap
   Septic overflow

When all your drains are slow-moving or totally clogged and plunging brings up debris you're sure never went down your drain in the first place, there's a high likelihood that some tree roots have busted into your pipe outside and are now causing the clog.

1. Bath salt corrosion
   Soap residue
2. Grease clog
   Hair in the drain

More than any other drain in the house, the shower drain gets abused by hair. Hair clogs will build up over time with soap, grease and other residues to make some impressive and also rather disgusting clogs that need to be forcefully pulled out or chemically broken down.

1. Dry trap
   Clogged sewer line
2. Leaky bib
   Pipe corrosion

Every drain has a trap under it, a curve of pipe that holds water. That water prevents gases flowing back up into your house. But if you've gone on vacation and no water has run for a while, that water can evaporate, giving you a dry trap that allows sewer gases to waft into the room. Run some water and fix the problem.

1. Major clog
   Leaking pipes
2. Malfunctioning sump pump
   Broken weeping tile

If your bills skyrocketed for no reason, you can figure out then you need to go hunting. There's a good chance your pipes are leaking somewhere, and it will continue to cost you a lot of money until you find it and fix it.

1. Loose seal
   Clogged trap
2. Broken seal
   Backflow valve malfunction

You always need to consider what a fixture does when figuring out what's wrong with it. Your kitchen sink has a lot of food matter in it so when it's not draining the most likely culprit is a trap clogged with food particles. A plunger, a snake or a chemical cleaner could get it flowing again.

1. Missing flapper
   Faulty ball valve
2. Clog in the line
   Broken wax seal

Few things are more terrifying than watching the water in your toilet rise up and potentially overflow. The most common cause of this is just a clog in the pipe that drains out below the toilet. This is especially common if you use something like baby wipes and flush them instead of putting them in the garbage.

1. Uneven supply lines
   Sewer gas leak
2. Excessive heat in the pipes
   Moisture leaking

If you're finding paint bubbling, especially on a ceiling, and it feels slightly damp there's a good chance you have some moisture leakage that hasn't fully turned into a large leak yet. Maybe some joints aren't properly sealed or a solder joint is weakening. Best to fix it soon before it gets a lot worse.

1. Steam valve malfunction
   Water heater failure
2. Broken supply line
   Overheated sump pump

Sump pumps are installed in most new houses, but they can break down sometimes. When the sump overheats, because it does have an electrical supply, you'll notice condensation buildup on the ceiling and a humid room that can lead to damaged paint and wood as well as mold.

1. Rusty pipes
   Sewage crossover
2. Bacterial overload
   Sediment

Hopefully, this isn't an issue if you have a newer home but if your water is running orange there's a good chance you're dealing with a rusty pipe or water heater issue. This happens if the water heater is older and has started badly corroding inside.

1. Bacteria
   Roots in the pipes
2. Municipal water supply issue
   Rusty pipes

If your water is running black or brown, even from the cold water, then that's a supply issue likely coming from the city. Either some work is being done on the line near your home or it goes all the way back to the source. Don't drink it, but do make a phone call to find out how long it will last.

1. Worn-out washer
   Hot water supply
2. Corroded spout
   Backflow valve malfunction

Although several things can cause a faucet to leak, a good place to start is the washer since that's often the most common cause. Either at the spout where the water comes out or in the seat where it attaches physically to your sink there will be a washer that, when working, prevents leaks. If it's ill-fitting or warped, water will start to drip.

1. Trap malfunction
   Faulty fuse
2. Burst line
   Clogged filter

The most common cause for a dishwasher not draining after a cycle is the filter being clogged. Every dishwasher should have a filter of some kind, whether it's a screen or one that looks like a small column you can twist free, meant to prevent large particles from getting further into the machine. if they aren't cleaned regularly, they'll clog up and impede water drainage.

1. Improper weeping tile installation
   Sump pump overheating
2. Clogged line
   Frozen pipes

Line clogs, whether from obstructions in the pipe or roots, can cause sewage to turn right back around and come up in the basement. A backwater valve installation can prevent this from happening, which is why most new homes have them by default.

1. Leaking septic tank
   Burst water supply
2. Sewer line crack
   Collapsed pipes

Though a vibrant, healthy lawn seems like a great thing if it's isolated to one very specific spot, over your septic tank, that's an issue. That means your tank is likely leaking, which is great for your lawn but can also lead to a sewer stink and back up sewage in the house.

1. Broken backflow valve
   Sump spike
2. Septic overflow
   Malfunctioning weeping tile

Your house should have weeping tile around the foundation, which is generally just a porous pipe that draws rainwater away from your foundation to prevent flooding. If the weeping tile is installed improperly or somehow clogged, the water won't drain and you risk water damage to your home.

1. Freezing pipes
   High water temperature
2. Air in the pipes
   Roots in the line

The water in your pipes moves thanks to pressure. When the pressure gets disrupted and the flow gets messed up by leaks or otherwise you'll hear rattling, knocking and what is known as "water hammer." If you shut off the main supply, drain your pipes, open the spigot in the house that's farthest from the intake then turn it back on again, it should be fine.

1. Deteriorating pipe insulation
   Frozen pipes
2. Irregular water pressure
   Excess humidity

Pipe insulation is great for, you know, insulating your pipes, but it needs to be maintained. Old insulation that has been exposed to too much moisture can start to rot and lead to quick and severe breakdown of the pipes

1. Weak seal around the sink
   Frozen pipe
2. Hair in the trap
   Air in the pipes

If water drips under your sink when you're doing dishes but not when you're just filling a glass, consider that it could be a result of the water splashing out of the sink and leaking under the faucet due to a weak or broken seal.

1. Hard water
   Clogged drain
2. Water temperature is too high
   High shower head

Assuming you have proper ventilation in your bathroom, if you're still experiencing mildew around the shower, especially high on the walls, there's a good chance your shower head is actually pointed too high up. Water splashing up the walls is causing the mildew growth, so consider replacing or repositioning the showerhead.

1. Jammed disposal
   Blown fuse
2. Flooded chamber
   Overloaded trap

Every so often, your garbage disposal gets jammed with more junk than it can handle. Sometimes it's bones, maybe even something metal that fell in there by mistake and needs to be pulled out. Make sure the power is off before ever trying to fix a disposal unit.

1. That's not even a thing.
   On your outside faucet
2. In the washing machine
   Where the water supply meets the hot water heater

Some people just call this an outside spigot or tap, but the hose bib is your outdoor faucet where you'd connect a hose to water the lawn, for instance. Like any other faucet, it can leak but it may go unnoticed for a lot longer so it's always good to check and make sure it's OK.

1. Overheated pump
   Sump pump clog
2. Mainline jam
   Timer issue

Sump pumps need maintenance just like anything. If the power is still working, the pump still turns on and sounds like it's trying to drain but it's just not working, consider giving the whole pump a cleanout. The pump could get jammed or it may even just be remarkably grimy and in need of a cleaning.

1. Busted heating element
   Pipe leak
2. Pressure valve malfunction
   Narrow lines

If you used to have more hot water than you do now, there's a good chance a heating element is on the fritz. You usually have two elements in a water heater and the bottom one does most of the work while the top one just sort of maintains the temperature. If the bottom one fails, you'll have far less hot water than you need.

1. Irregular valve lining
   Broken pump
2. Sediment buildup
   Faulty supply line

Water is full of minerals and your water heater will build up a large quantity of mineral sediment over time. On a long enough timeline, you could look at half of your tank being sediment and half water, which greatly decreases the hot water available and also means you'll have grit and sediment visible. You can find easy instructions online for flushing your water heater to remove this buildup. Do it twice a year!

1. Partially closed meter valve
   Warped pipe
2. Poorly-angled supply line
   Air in the lines

If water pressure is an issue throughout the whole building, one of the first things worth your time to investigate would be the valve at the water meter, which is usually outside the house. If the valve isn't parallel to the pipe, it's not open all the way and that could be decreasing pressure.

1. Roots in the drain
   Blocked stack
2. Faulty weeping tile
   Frozen lines

If sewer gas is coming into the house but everything is still draining properly, then it may not be the drains at all. You have the main stack in your house through which gases vent to the roof of your house. If a bird builds a nest in there, for instance, that gas may back up in your house again.

1. Frozen in the pipes
   Evaporation
2. Broken seal
   Backwater valve clog

If you live in a cold climate, then you need to worry about frozen pipes in the winter. If your home dropped below freezing for some reason then your pipes have likely frozen up and will need to be warmed slowly and carefully to get them flowing again.

1. Low pressure
   Faulty wax seal
2. Broken chain
   Missing flapper

On most toilets, when you push the lever down to flush it raises a chain inside the tank that lifts the flapper, allowing the toilet to flush. If that chain broke or came loose, pushing the lever does nothing at all and the toilet won't flush. Luckily, it's a very quick and easy fix.

1. Overheated pipes
   Air bubbles
2. Sediment build-up
   Cold pipes

That knocking in your radiator is caused by air bubbles running through the system and could be a simple fix. Your radiator should have a valve on it that can be opened to release the air.

1. Mainline malfunction
   Faulty gaskets
2. Leaking septic tank
   Clogged traps

When your outside stinks in the backyard and you're on a septic system, it's a pretty safe bet that the septic tank has sprung a leak or is in desperate need of being drained because it's overflowing.

1. Leaky seat
   Clogged trap
2. Stripped valve
   Corroded insulation

If you hear dripping in the wall behind the shower it's most likely because the faucet seat is leaking. Where the hot and cold taps actually attach to the pipes inside the wall is called the seat. There could be a worn washer in there or some other issue that has caused water to start leaking.

1. Heat exchange
   Flux contamination
2. Galvanic corrosion
   Ionic transfer

If someone improperly connected a copper pipe to a steel pipe, then the result is going to be one of the messiest, ugliest rusted pipe situations you've ever seen. It's caused by galvanic corrosion and can be prevented if you use the proper fitting between the pipes so the unlike metals don't touch.

1. Clogged P-trap
   Float ball issue
2. Missing flapper
   Clogged overflow tube

Your tank has a ball inside it called the float ball. As the water fills your tank between flushes, the ball rises until it pushes down a lever to stop the tank from filling at the correct volume of water for a flush. If the ball is on a rod that is bent, it will close the valve at a low volume of water and give you less water per flush.