Plumbing in Manchester is mill risers that were adapted for housing, plus galvanized branches in the wood blocks built around them. A leak on an upper floor of a three-family finds every ceiling below. In a mill, a riser can travel a long way through brick before it shows up in a unit. Flat-roof drains and internal leaders clog and get called pipe leaks for months. Say whether the water is supply, waste, or rain.
Gurgles are often vents. Old metal service lines still enter cellars. Do not scrape them. Know the shutoff for your unit and, if you can, the building. Valves that have not turned in years may weep. Disposals on old house stacks clog at the same elbow. Basement units near a main cleanout are the first to report a lateral problem. A stain that grows only after rain is a leader until proved otherwise.
Shared hot water in a mill building drops pressure and temperature when several units draw. A tank or a boiler coil in a damp mechanical room can serve more than your bath. Say what you know. Rusty water in a West Side house points at galvanized pipe, and a new faucet will not clear it. Radiator drips are heat piping and still ruin plaster below. Name the nearest fixture.
The Merrimack side adds backup risk in low basements when the system is loaded. Ask that question if water comes up from a drain rather than down from a ceiling. Hose bibs freeze on north walls of wood houses. A mill toilet that rocks has started a leak into a floor many people walk. Do not treat a common riser as a private clog you can ignore.
Name the building, the floor, and the symptom. Mention whether rain changes it and who shares the stack. Active water and an old stain are different. Call the number on this page.