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Fast, honest troubleshooting for the most common plumbing problems, what is likely causing it, what to try right now, and when to call us.
Banging Pipes (Water Hammer): Causes and Fixes
Pipes that bang when you shut off water is 'water hammer', the shock of fast-stopping water with no cushion. It's usually a failed air chamber or a missing water-hammer arrestor, and left alone it can loosen joints over time.
Frozen Pipes: What to Do (and What Not to)
If a pipe is frozen, shut off the main in case it's already split, open the affected faucet, and thaw gently with warm air, never an open flame. If you have no water after a hard freeze in Flagstaff or Prescott, assume a frozen or burst line and call before it thaws and floods.
Low Water Pressure at One Faucet: Causes & Fixes
When pressure is low at just one faucet while the rest of the house is fine, the problem is local to that fixture, most commonly a clogged aerator or a partially closed supply valve. In hard-water Phoenix homes, mineral scale in the aerator or cartridge is the number-one cause. House-wide low pressure is a different problem (PRV, main line, or municipal supply).
Low Water Pressure in the House: Causes and Fixes
The first thing to work out is whether it is the whole house or just one tap. One tap is nearly always a blocked aerator or a worn cartridge in that fixture, and it is a small job. The whole house points at something shared: the pressure regulator, the main shut-off not fully open, or build-up in older pipes. Knowing which it is saves you paying to diagnose the wrong thing.
Monsoon Season Plumbing: What Actually Goes Wrong, and What to Do
Arizona's monsoon runs June 15 through September 30, and it is hardest on plumbing from mid-July into mid-August. The trouble is not the total rainfall, it is how fast it arrives. Desert ground sheds a hard rain instead of soaking it up, so water runs off into washes, yard drains, and whatever grade points at your house. The most common results are backed-up yard and area drains, sewer and septic problems from saturated ground, water pushed toward foundations, and well pumps knocked out by storm power outages.
No Hot Water? Here's What's Wrong and How to Fix It
No hot water usually means a tripped breaker or an out pilot on the water heater, a failed heating element or thermostat, or a unit that has reached the end of its life. If the water is lukewarm rather than cold, or runs hot then goes cold fast, that points at a broken dip tube or heavy scale instead. Start by working out whether your heater is gas or electric, because the first thing to check is different for each.
Rusty or Brown Water From the Tap: What It Means
Brown or rusty water is usually sediment or corrosion, from the water heater if it's hot-only, or from the supply line, a main break, or (on wells) iron if it's both hot and cold. Run the cold tap a few minutes. If it clears, it was stirred-up sediment.
Sewage Smell in the House: What It Means
A sewer smell indoors nearly always means the barrier that normally blocks it has stopped working. Under every drain is a U-shaped bend called a trap that holds a little water, and that water is what keeps sewer gas out of your house. If a trap dries out, or a vent is blocked, the smell has a clear path in. Start with the drains you rarely use, because that is the usual answer and it is free.
Shower Not Getting Hot Enough?
A shower that only gets lukewarm is most often a worn anti-scald (pressure-balance) cartridge in the shower valve, or a rotation limit stop set too low. If every hot tap in the house is weak, the problem is the water heater instead. A single lukewarm shower while other faucets run hot points straight to the shower valve.
Signs Your Water Softener Isn't Working
The clearest sign a water softener has stopped working is the return of hard-water symptoms: spotty dishes, soap that won't lather, crusty scale on faucets, and dry skin and hair. In the Phoenix area, these show up within days of a softener failing. The usual causes are a salt bridge in the brine tank, a stuck regeneration cycle, or resin that's worn out.
Toilet Keeps Running? Here's the Fix
A toilet that keeps running is almost always the rubber flap at the bottom of the tank, called the flapper. It has gone stiff or worn, so it no longer seals and water trickles from the tank into the bowl forever. It is usually a cheap fix, and worth doing quickly: the EPA says a constantly running toilet can waste 200 gallons a day or more, and a stuck fill valve can waste over 4,000.
Toilet Leaking From the Base: What It Means
Water pooling around the base of a toilet almost always means a failed wax ring seal between the toilet and the floor flange, letting water escape with every flush. Less often it's a cracked toilet, loose closet bolts, or condensation. Stop using the toilet until it's resealed, because leaking water gets under the flooring and can rot the subfloor on a slab home.
Water Heater Leaking? What to Do Right Now
Where the water is coming from decides everything. Water dripping from a pipe or a fitting at the top is often repairable. Water coming from the bottom of the tank itself usually means the tank has rusted through, and a tank that leaks cannot be patched, only replaced. Either way, shut the water off to the heater and call. Water and a hot appliance are not a combination to leave overnight.
Water Heater Pilot Light Won't Stay Lit?
If your gas water heater's pilot lights but goes out when you release the control knob, the most likely culprit is a bad or misaligned thermocouple (or thermopile on newer units) that isn't sensing the flame and signaling the gas valve to stay open. Other causes are a dirty pilot orifice, a tripped flammable-vapor sensor, or a drafty or blocked flue. A pilot that won't stay lit means no hot water until it's resolved.
Where Is My Main Water Shut-Off Valve?
In most metro Phoenix slab-on-grade homes, the main water shut-off is on an exterior wall near the front hose bib, often in a small box or behind an access panel, or at the water meter near the street. Turning it clockwise (righty-tighty) shuts off water to the whole house. Find and test it now, before an emergency, so you're not searching while water is spreading.
Why Does My Drain Keep Clogging?
A drain that clogs again after being cleared is telling you the blockage was never fully removed, or that something further down is catching everything that passes. Repeated clogs in one fixture are usually build-up in that branch. Repeated clogs in several fixtures at once point at the main line, which is a different and more serious thing.
Why Is My Drain Gurgling?
A gurgling drain means air is getting pulled through the water in your trap because the drain or vent can't move air freely, usually from a developing clog or a blocked plumbing vent. The sound is trapped air escaping past the water seal. It's an early warning. Deal with it before it turns into a full backup or a sewer-gas problem.
Why Is My Water Bill Suddenly So High?
A water bill that jumps with no change in use almost always means a hidden leak, most often a running toilet, an irrigation line, or a slab leak. Shut off every fixture and watch the meter. If it's still moving, you've got an active leak to find.
Why Is My Water Heater Pressure Relief Valve Leaking?
A dripping temperature-and-pressure (T&P) relief valve usually means it's doing its job: relieving excess pressure or temperature inside the tank. The most common cause in Phoenix is high incoming water pressure or thermal expansion with no working expansion tank, not a faulty valve. Don't cap or plug the discharge pipe, because that turns the tank into a safety hazard.
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