Undetected leaks have been reported to waste over 2,000 gallons of water a year. Not only does this negatively affect your wallet, but it can also cause damages to your home if ignored. We’ll give you tips and tricks on how to detect the leak in your home or property!
There’s two common scenarios with your water bill that possibly could have brought this to your attention: the spike in your bill if you haven’t change your regular use in water or a gradually increase without changing your regular use. You might want to follow these next tips and methods to solve your leak problem as soon as possible. Start off by making sure there is no water use inside or outside the home and the continue by shutting off the water valves. Then continue moving through your house from bottom to top. Any sort of basement or crawl space that you can search. Making sure there are no pools of water or signs of water damage. Big indicators if there is water damage in this area can include corrosion, mineral build up, buckling of material, and mold or mildew. Once your done there, then continue moving up in the house. Check for water damage that can look like, staining, bubbling, or peeling paint under sinks, on ceilings, under appliances such as your water heater, refrigerator, washing machine, toilets. dishwasher, and bathtubs or showers. Many times toilets can have obviously loud and silent leaks. Opening the back of the tank can help you see if there is any water dripping. To determine if you have a silent leak you can first shut off the water source of the toilet, put a couple of drops of food coloring in the back tank. Do not flush until for one hour! If you see any food coloring in the bowl, you know you have a leak. When you flush after the hour there will be food coloring in the the tank, this does not indicate a leak. After you determined if you have a leak or not you should the turn on your toilet’s water source. Lastly, move your search to the outside of your home. Find all your outside faucets for uses like your hose and such and make sure there are no leaks coming from them. If you have a pool, inspect the pump for any leaks. If you notice you have to refill your pool more than usual this could also indicate a leak. If you have a running sprinkler system, make sure that it is running properly and that there are no excess pools of water build up or that it is not spitting out water irregularly. After you’re done with your inspection, don’t forget to turn your water source for your home back on!
If at any point you notice any sign of leaking, or might suspect of leaking within the home call California Plumbing SD to help! We can help you solve and fix the problem for you!
*This blog is for general understanding and educational purposes only and should not be used in place of professional advice. Please contact a professional at California Plumbing SD for a consultation.
