Many different reasons may lead to water leaks in your house: blockages, cracks or rust in pipes or joints, leaky boilers or radiators, leaking bathtubs, taps, or showers, and faulty boilers or cooling systems.
Water may back up, as a result, putting strain on plumbing pipes. Water rushing from a pipe or haphazard pools are clear indications, but you can also have leaks that aren’t immediately apparent.
In the end, water leaks might do a lot of harm. Leaks are something that you should discover as soon as possible. Knowing the symptoms and understanding plumbing leak detection can help you respond swiftly.
What Are the Topmost Signs of Water Leaks?
The majority of homeowners eventually deal with a plumbing leak at some time over the life of their house. Leaks from frozen pipes that burst are an obvious example of this. Others are concealed, like loose connections in plumbing pipes running under the floor.
The sooner a leak is discovered, the sooner you may fix it. However, you must first know where to look for harmful water leaks and the art of plumber water leak detection. Here are the topmost warning signs of water leaks in your house.
Monitor Your Water Bill
Water costs are generally predictable each month. Therefore, you could have a leak if you have a particularly high one and haven’t been using too much water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a household of four should normally use at most 12,000 gallons per month, with the possible exception of the summertime if you water a garden or turf. Even little leaks, like a faucet that drips steadily, may waste up to 10,000 gallons of water annually. So, monitoring your water bill is a wise, preventative move.
Do a Food Colouring Test
Up to 30% of your water use may be attributed to your toilets. Therefore, you should make sure they are functioning correctly. Add a few drops of your chosen food colouring to your toilet tank and wait 10 minutes to check for leaks. If the colour seeps into your bowl, you have a leak that is enabling water to seep from your tank without ever flushing the bowl.
You can contact a leak detection company to do food colouring and other tests for your plumbing system and resolve the issues before they turn into disastrous ones. Moreover, a leak detection expert can also use affordable testing methods to ensure your repair or maintenance costs are manageable.
Look for Dusty Smells and Wet Walls
You may have a water leak if family members detect obvious wetness in your kitchen, bathroom, or closets. If you don’t have a water leak fixed immediately, it may mess up your house and encourage mould growth. This can signify water seeping through the drywall’s exterior surface from behind.
Most water spots on walls and ceilings are yellowish or brownish in hue. A recurring leak eventually creates the ideal moist habitat for mould to flourish. Black splotches on the exterior of the wall may sometimes be visible, but mould often grows within the wall where you can’t see it. So, look out for a musty odour and get professional leak detection services if you find dusty smells or wall stains.
Examine Fixtures and Appliances
If the water meter test reveals a leak within your house, ensure the cupboards under the sinks in the kitchen, laundry room, and toilet are dry. Additionally, be on the lookout for puddles under the water heater, dishwasher, laundry dryer, and at the bottoms of the tubs, toilets, and showers.
Turn off the relevant water supply valve to that device or fixture. If you see any puddles, then contact a plumber. Ensure the issue isn’t coming from the appliance, its connectors, or drain-outs if the water damage is limited to the area surrounding your dishwasher or washing machine. You can also call professional water leak detectors to help fix any issues if you find puddles near your water-based appliances.
What Are Common Water Leak Detection Tests?
Hydrostatic and isolation testing are the two most often used to identify water leaks.
- Pressurising the tank or pipe while checking the system’s water level is known as hydrostatic testing.
- Isolation testing, on the other hand, entails pressurising and isolating a certain area of a plumbing system. Another test is used to pinpoint the leak’s location further when the pressure drops.
Why Should You Contact a Professional Leak Detection Company?
As long as the water is securely confined in a pipe, sink, tub, or suitable equipment, such as a dishwasher, our residences depend on it. However, if water enters an area where it shouldn’t, it may quickly turn into an adversary and risk harming the furnishings or structure of a house.
Sadly, plumbing leaks happen often, even in modern homes. Additionally, it’s possible that at least one will affect every home. Furthermore, only some leaks are evident. In fact, they may be really sneaky, so it’s imperative to find and fix a leak as soon as you can.
Every homeowner needs to be able to locate a water leak. Any leak is a plumbing emergency and often indicates a more serious issue. If you notice a leak, you must get your plumbing repaired. Before making repairs, you may also use water leak detector services if you need to figure out where the leak is coming from in the first place.