Water leaks in your home can often go undetected for days or even weeks. When this happens, it not only costs you a lot of money as your water bills increase, but it can also damage your home and any property inside. Learning how to detect a leak in your home’s plumbing can help you save money and avoid disaster by helping you know when you should call a local plumbing company to have them come out to fix a leak.
Easy Ways to Determine if Your Home has a Water Leak
The following are some quick, easy ways homeowners can determine if their home has a potential water leak:
- Check the water meter. Look at the water meter, then turn off all water to the house. A local plumbing supply store can help direct you how to turn the water off if you don’t know how to do it. If the water meter dramatically changes, you have a severe water leak.
- Check the water meter after two hours. Keep the water to the house turned off. If there is a change, a water leak may be present and a plumber should be called to help you find the leak.
- Unexplained water damage. Look for warped wallpaper, water stains, and puddles forming in places that normally are dry
- Watch your water bill. If you haven’t changed any of your water usage habits, your bill should be approximately the same from month to month. If there are dramatic increases, it could be caused by a water leak.
- Use food coloring to detect leaks in the toilet. Pour a few drops of food coloring into the water in your toilet’s tank. If without you flushing the toilet, the colored water later appears in the toilet bowl, there is a small, subtle leak.
- Look at the backs of the walls under and inside cabinets. Water leaks can happen in the walls behind cabinets and go unnoticed. Look for signs of water damage around your cabinets, such as water stains, mold or mildew smell.
Quality Leak Detection & Repair Services
After reading through our beginner’s guide to water leaks, if you suspect you may have a leak in your home’s plumbing, you should call a local plumbing company and schedule an appointment to have a plumber come to your home and help detect and fix the leak. At General Plumbing, we offer a variety of plumbing services ranging from drain cleaning to emergency plumbing and leak detection. Call General Plumbing at (561) 771-0086 today!