[Susan W]

We bought a 15 year old house with 3.5 bathrooms. Every last bathroom has water leak issues to some degree. Either the toilets barely flush and you need to hold the handle down forever, or the faucets drip beneath the cabinets. One bathtub drips out of it's spout.
But the worst of all is the master shower. It is tiled from floor to wall, with glass doors. There is a recurring mildew/ water stain on the wall next to the shower, outside the shower doors. We used caulking to make sure there is no water leaking between the shower doors to this wall. The cracked floor and wall tiles we have caulked up... looks unsightly for now, but...
And the floor drain in the shower : it fills up with water as you are taking a shower, which means you will be standing in water past your ankles, and is slow to drain afterward.
Outside our master bathroom is a ficus hedge next to the house. One lof the ficus hedges looks to have been removed. We have also heard rumors that in the neighborhood, houses built prior to 1994 ( OURS ) may have polybutylene pipes which can burst and leak. I have seen insurance claim documents from 3 or 4 years ago, filed by the prior owner, having to do with 80 water pipe leaks for which they had flooring replaced and drywall assessed in the master bedroom. Cosmetically it looks OK, but I feel perhaps the underlying problem was not addressed in the plumbing. No matter how much professional drain clog liquid we use, it doesn't barely address the shower issue. My husband is in denial that we could have a shower pipe leak, which is what had happened at our previous house which was 55 years old, but not to this severe degree, and we simply had the bathroom renovation person replace the shower pipe and re solder them when he re tiled the shower area in the old house. This newer house is a much bigger bathroom, and we can't afford to hire a plumber, let alone begin a remodel project just yet. Sometimes our water bill is so high that the city was obligated to advise us to check for water leaks in the house, but my husband thinks it may have been due to a broken sprinkler head. Any advice is appreciated, as I said, my husband is in denial about what I think is the real issue.

[speedball1]

the floor drain in the shower : it fills up with water as you are taking a shower, which means you will be standing in water past your ankles, and is slow to drain afterward.

For your shower,It needs to be snaked. First remove the strainer,(TIP: put the screws in the soap dish. They will be hard to replace if they go down the drain.) Now work your snake past the trap and 6 or 7 feet beyond. When you pull the snake back it should have the hair that was clogging your shower on the auger tip. Now pour 1/4 gallon of bleach down in the trap and let it set over night. Next morning pour a pan of boiling down the shower to clear what's left and make your drain smell nice.

[hkstroud]

If your water consumption is so great that the city is advising you to check for water leaks, you should listen. Your husband may be in denial but the water will keep leaking and the bills will keep coming. Maybe if you invested in plumbing repairs you would save enough on the water bill to pay for the repairs. Any kind of water leak inside your home will cost you big time to repair the damage to the structure.

[speedball1]

Let's see how bad that water leak is. To check for a hidden leak go out to the water meter, look for the little pointer or triangle below the read out. With all your fixtures shut off you should not see the little pointer moving. The faster it moves the bigger the leak.Look on the meter dial, (see image) The large hand measures in tenths of a gallon. One complete turn equals ten gallons. Time out how long it takes to loose 5 or 10 gallons. Good luck, om

[cyberheater]

Sounds like a lot. I liked all the answers.

I would offer a bit more collabration if I may.

When he says turn all the fixtures off - that means your toilets too. People often think if you can't hear it running - there isn't a leak - there certainly could be. That triangle he told you about will move in a circle - if it's moving and all your fixtures shut off's are turned off -your husbands denial will quickly fall. If it doesn't you can relax a little.

[mygirlsdad77]

Was the house winterized before you bought it, and if so, how long was it vacant. If a house sits with no water in the plumbing system for a long period, gaskets and orings in faucets and the like will dry out and leak when water is turned back on to home. Sometimes these leaks will fix themselves, but usually calling in a plumber to look everything over and do simple repairs is well worth the money. Get all of your stopped up drains and leaky pipes and faucets fixed now and it will save you in the long run. I doubt that you have any burst pipes, because if you did, you would already have a flood on your hands. Sounds to me like you just need some simple repairs done. Good luck and please let us know how you make out. Lee.