Help! External pipe from bathroom dripping!

[ToBeClear]

We have a pipe that curves out from the bathroom (around where the shower and toilet are) -- it's not fitted to anything outside so just ends. It has just been dripping water significantly but has now stopped.

Is it meant to do this? Could it be some kind of overflow pipe? It seems odd because it just drips all down the side of the house. Should we be concerned as it's now stopped? The house is new to us so we're not sure whether to call a plumber in or not.

I've attached a photo hoping @PigletJohn Can help

It is not attached to the horizontal pipe below it in the photo.

I think it is an overflow pipe, probably from your toilet. It would mean that the fill to your toilet cistern is not switching off properly once the cistern is refilled after flushing, so instead of the cistern overflowing all over the bathroom it overflows to outside. It may be a simple thing to fix, like just needing a new float in your cistern or a new seal on the valve that shuts off the water once it has filled. I'm guessing that there will be lots of stuff on line showing you how to deal with this as DIY, or if you are not confident, it should be a relatively straightforward thing for a plumber to deal with.
It isn't an emergency, you can wait until a plumber is free to attend during a normal working week, but if you leave it dripping for weeks on end, it could cause a damp patch on your wall.

@ChristmaspArti thank you!!! Will check it out! Makes sense as we've been in the house 3 months and not noticed it happen before!

The reason it stops and starts is that the cistern is only filling to overflow slowly. Every time you flush the loo it starts the fill again, so it will drip when there has been a long time since the loo has last been flushed ( eg overnight) but not when the loo is being flushed more regularly as it hasn't had time to overfill as far as the overflow pipe.

It could also be the overflow pipe for an unvented cylinder.

Do you have one of these in the house? If so check whether water is dripping through the Bund. If it is it indicates that the air bubble needs resetting or the tank needs servicing.

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows thank you- what is an unvented cylinder and how do we know if we have one?

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows ok yes we do have a cylinder tank as well as a combi boiler. Now to find out what a bund is!

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows looking at our cylinder instruction manual diagrams it's quite possibly this! Who services hot water tanks? A plumber or a heating technician? Thank you!

Sorry, for the delay in coming back to you.

Have you now found the bund and is there water dripping through it?

What make is the tank?

Mine was a Megaflo and came with instructions on the front explaining how to reset the air bubble.

However, you mustn't mess with these tanks because they are holding the water inside under pressure, so you should only try to recharge the air bubble if you know what you are doing. Only some plumbers are licenced to work on them and I had at least one doing plumbing work in my house who clearly didn't know what he was doing.

In the early days I would call out Megaflo to service the tank and reset the air bubble. They taught me how to reset it myself.

Check out the manufacturer of your tank and see if they offer servicing. If not contact a plumber but check that they are licenced to work on your tank.

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows thank you so much! I wasn't expecting immediate responses lol! I haven't located the bund as I'm not sure what I'm looking for. It's an Ariston tank so I'll get it serviced. This has helped a great deal though thanks. We have been in the US for 18 years so aren't used to homes with central heating and boilers or tanks! Thanks again!

Not all bunds look the same but it will probably look a bit like this

Although the water would only be dripping, not flowing like the picture.

Mine only used to drip when the water was heating, but the dripping and wet mark on the wall was the early warning I needed that the air bubble needed resetting.

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows whole can of worms now. Found the bund and it feels damp inside there but I don't see drips. However I found another pipe dripping on my hand from the combi boiler above while investigating this. Urgh.

Hmmmm defintely time to call a plumber.

If it was me I would also turn off the heat to the water, but I am uber careful with these things !!

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows yup I think we have pressure issues....

I hope you get it sorted soon !!

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows thank you and thanks for your help!

not a plumber, but a heating engineer who is qualified (there is a certificate) to work on Unvented Cylinders as well as boilers.

There is a chance you will find a sticker of card on it from whoever worked on it before. If not, a personal recommendation from a trusted friend or neighbour is much much much better than number culled from an internet advertising recommendation website.

Thanks @PigletJohn we've found someone hopefully as we've discovered a leaking radiator too. Probably why our pressure isn't holding. God knows how many other leaks we have in this old house...

Get whoever you call in to test the pressure of the water coming into your house.

I had an old house previously that was constantly having leaks, tap issues etc. It turned out that the water pressure from the mains was incredibly high.

My Plumber fitted a pressure reducing valve next to the stopcock and the problem of new leaks went away. It was like the plumbing throughout the house breathed a sigh of relief at the pressure reduction.

@Flyingsouthwiththeswallows great good to know thank you! Owning an old house is wonderful but full of unknowns!