QUESTION FROM vcmo258

My home is on a slab there are gurgling or water dripping noises comng from the drain. This shower has not been used for 2 years. there is no water leaking what can it be?

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear vcm0258:

Is the gurgling or water dripping noises coming from your drain a new sound? Or has it been happening for a long time?

If it a fairly new problem, then the following are possible causes:

1) A plumbing drain line could be partially blocked, and as a result, all of the fixtures served by this drain line (such as the unused shower that you mentioned) can be slow to drain. To fix this you can try a product like Drano (be sure to follow ALL directions), or have a professional clear the drain.

2) The plumbing vent pipe for your home may have gotten blocked by insect nests, birds nests, etc. To check for this, you will need to have someone climb up onto your roof and inspect your plumbing vent pipe.

3) If you have a septic system, you could have a partially blocked or sluggish septic system.

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com

QUESTION FROM robertridener

i turn my shower off and i hear something crack.

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear robertridener:

Without hearing it myself, its hard to tell exactly what is causing the "crack" sound that you are hearing when you turn off your shower.

But if I had to guess, I would say that the sound is caused by a "water hammer" in your plumbing system. A water hammer is caused by the pressure shock that is created when there is a sudden change in velocity of a liquid flowing through a pipe (like when you close the valve on your shower). A water hammer is very bad for your piping system, and you should get it eliminated.

Eliminating a water hammer in your plumbing system will depend on the configuration of your system. For example, do you already have an air chamber in your plumbing (which is there to help eliminate water hammers), that has filled up with water and is therefore not working properly? So I'm afraid that you will likely need to bring in a trained plumbing professional to help you.

One test that you can try on your own is to turn off the water in your shower very slowly, and see if you still hear the "crack" sound.

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com

QUESTION FROM Kevin, Arizona

My Bathroom pipes sound like the water is running in the walls behind my counter sink. There is no visible water leakage in the walls or around the walls on the floor. Any suggestions what it could be.

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear Kevin, Arizona:

If you are hearing water in the wall behind your counter sink, here are a couple of thoughts: o Do you have baseboard hot water heating in your home, and could there be trapped air in this heating zone causing the running water sound? o If you are hearing water running through the walls (and it's not coming from your closed baseboard heating system), then the water needs to be coming out somewhere.
Have you check your toilets to see if there is water leaking into the bowl or through the overflow tub in the tank? o One thing you can try is to turn off all of the water faucets in your house, and then watch your main water meter (over several hours) and see if the meter is moving. If the meter is not turning (and again, you will have to watch it over several hours, as a slow leak will not move the dial very much), then you do not have a water leak. However, if the meter does move, then there is water leaking somewhere in your home.

Hope this helpful.
Home-Wizard.com