Why Water Leaks Matter
It can start slow at first and seems like an annoyance rather than anything significant. Water on the floor or in the corner underneath a window. Sure water leaks might only happen every now and then but the effort to try to figure them out what to do with them can seem a little overwhelming if you don’t have the time or expertise.
If you do choose to ignore them they can cause damage which will not only cost you the time to figure out where the leak is coming from but some major repair work that you’ll want to avoid. Not to mention you should be trying to save or conserve water from being wasted.
Often it’s not only the damage but also additional repercussions we don’t think about until we have mould or the water bill turns up in the mail. It’s usually the threat of your health or your wallet that adds a bit of urgency to the problem.
Detecting a Water Leak
While you may have seen some damage but not seen water or felt it dripping there’s a few other tell tale signs you might want to consider. The dripping of a tap or something in the walls or even a hissing sounds that’s constantly there when nobody in the house is using any water might lead to a further investigation. Your water bill will definitely get your attention. Let’s break some of these down a little further for the home plumber or handyman.
Checking the Water Meter
If you know where your water meter it’s worth checking the numbers. Your water meter could be out the front of your property or located wherever your services come in. Turn off everything including that air conditioner and you should be able to hear it continuing to feed water to the property or you’ll see the numbers still slowly turning. It’s not going to do this by itself and so you know the water is going somewhere.
Checking for Damp Spots or Water Stains
You can usually feel dampness to the touch, whether it be on floors, walls or ceilings the simple touch method compared to somewhere that’s not damp will determine if there’s been water. It could be water that was there several days ago not just recently depending on how humid it’s been.
You might even smell a musty smell indicating it’s in the walls and the gases can’t escape the same they would if they had normal air passing across the water to dry it naturally. Wall stains and ceiling stains are another obvious one we’ve seen lots and lots of. It usually ends up in a clean or new gyprock plaster job and could be a tiling bathroom nightmare.
Low Water Pressure
This will vary from house to house on how much water pressure you can expect but if it seems like it’s a little less than usual it could be a sign the water pressure is being pushed through to somewhere else. It could be under your house especially if you see water in your driveway or appearing from nowhere.
Mould and Mildew
We touched on this before but as it’s an important aspect of water leaks it’s worth it’s own section. Mold or the unusual growth of mould especially in areas not usually affected by water is a tell tale sign you have a leak. We see mould in bathrooms and toilets alot but if you have mould in the ceiling corner of your lounge room then that’s a bit odd and you probably need to investigate. It could be a gutter overflowing or it could be a pipe that goes from your bathroom to the mains that’s developed a small leak over the years.
Leaks can look like a drip, a small spray of water or a gushing torrent. These usually start small and develop over time as the water pressure does it’s work like breaking the wall of a dam. Something small will be something big over time.
Building Foundations
Like any structural damage you might find that over time the water has created cracks that become more and more visible. The cracks also have an effect on the integrity of your homes structure. If your home structure shifts enough the foundations can crack causing even more problems.
Common Places for Water Leaks
These are a list of common places you might not thing to look for leaks.
- Bathroom: Around taps, toilets, showers are a very common source of leaks
- Kitchen: Under the sink over time your shelving will suffer and warp as a result of leaks
- Outdoor areas: Garden hoses, irrigation systems and pool piping can all be areas water leaks from
- Basements or Crawl spaces: the unseen pipes could have issues for years before detection
Tools and Techniques for Leak Detection
- Water Meter Tests: Simply try to write some numbers down, check those numbers against yesterday or even over the space of a week to see what’s normal.
- Thermal Imaging: We know this isn’t going to be something everyone is going to have in the tool shed but it is one of our most effective tools especially in detecting water in the walls and ceilings.
- Sound Detection Devices: Again similar to thermal we have tools that can listen for sounds behind walls and detect small vibrations you’d never know where there if you just listened yourself.
- Dye Test: This is still one of Melbourne Plumbing Co go to’s when it comes to visualising where water goes. If we can inject dye into water coming from a shower we can more visually see it as it makes it’s way out into cupboards or hallways so there’s no doubt where the water came frome. This usually involves dye tables or food colouring, something no doubt you have in the cupboard. Besides the shower you might want to also place these into your toilet to test other areas. Try a different colour if there’s any confusion and doing multiple tests at once.
When do you call a Professional
As soon as possible is the right answer, not just because we want to make money but because you want an expert to look after your house from severe damage. Leaks can be also really complex especially if in the walls or underground. If you have a plumber come in and they look at the leak you might be pleasantly surprised as to the solution and the cost compared to leaving it for weeks on end.
Preventative Measures
Ok, like a car and the maintenance you need to check that everything is running well every now and then. It might be once every few months in your calendar add an item that says “Check for leaks”. It’s often something that’s on the bottom of the list but it’s also something that can take you 10 minutes of walking around and having a feel here and there for moisture.
If you’ve had a leak in the past it’s a known problem and it may of been fixed but imaging if you had a regular inspection on that once a year to recheck things haven’t degraded to the point that water has found a new way. Older homes are typical hotspots where a check is worth your while.
Routine maintenance sounds like it needs a plumber as well but it really doesn’t always need to. Think your drains get clogged with hair and need a bit of love every now and then. Get some drain cleaner from the supermarket and store it under the sinks you known will need cleaning. Just make sure it’s secure from any kids or animals that might mistake it for something it’s not.
As we mentioned above, checking your water pressure regularly is also a good check. You can do this by turning on a tap into a bucket and timing how long it takes to fill the bucket.
Maintaining appliances such as dishwashers by using cleaning tablets could also stop them from building up debris and eventually leaking through pressure. Keep your dishwasher in tip top shape.
Your hot water system is usually located outside, investigate if it’s leaking or if you need to flush it once and a while.
Install leak detectors, some of these are pretty cool and can even send you an alert on your phone. Check online or your local Bunnings.
If you need help Melbourne Plumbing Co
So you know it’s important and you’re just too busy to deal with it. Don’t ignore your water leaks, do something about them and call us if you need a little bit of help. One of our team will come out and do an initial assessment. It might involve a secondary visit but you won’t be alone in trying to figure it out and having an expert on your team could save you dollars in the end.
Here’s a link to our water leak detection page for more information.
