So you think you have a leaking pipe. Maybe you’ve seen signs of water damage. Or maybe you’ve just noticed that you’re spending a lot more on water than usual. Whatever the reason, finding a water pipe leak can be harder said than done.
Here are a few ideas that might help.
Visually Inspect Pipes You Can See
Some of the water pipes in your home are inside walls or under floors, so you can’t get to them easily. However, if you’re lucky, that won’t be where the problem is.
Start your search for the leaky pipe by visually inspecting all the pipes you can see. This could be under your wash basin, the pipes that run to your toilets, under your kitchen sink and so on. Look for cracks, corrosion, or any visible signs of damage.
Look at fittings and hardware too. Sometimes, a leak is caused by a failed or worn-out fitting or even a washer.
Don’t Forget the Roof!
Very often, hot water cylinders are installed in roofs. They usually have pipes coming in, bringing cold water, and pipes that take hot water out. Which means that there’s always a chance your leak might be there. If you can access your roof to take a look at your pipes safely, it’s worth a quick look.
If you can see signs of water on your ceilings, you might not have to climb into the roof space – this is a good sign that there’s a leak.
Remember Your Swimming Pool
If you have a swimming pool, fishpond or water feature in your garden that uses water from your home, or even an irrigation system, that might be where the leak is.
Most of these kinds of systems can be isolated and shut off from the rest of your house’s plumbing.
Turn off the water to each of these, and then take a water meter reading. Check again in ten minutes, and if the meter hasn’t changed, there’s a good chance that’s the source of the problem.
What If You Can’t Find It?
If you still have signs of a leak, or you still have very high water bills and you can’t see any leaks in your home, you probably need professional help.
Plumbers have a variety of tools and equipment they can use to find leaks faster than you can, and they also know where to look. Leaks don’t get better on their own, so if you can’t find the problem yourself, you need to call a professional. In fact, if you have a damaged pipe or a broken fitting, you’ll still need to call a plumber. This is one fix you don’t want to tackle as a DIY project!
A good plumber will be able to find plumbing leaks quickly, and will have the tools and parts necessary to make the repair. Better yet, they know exactly what they are doing, so they won’t accidentally make the problem worse – which is something many people do when they’re trying to find and fix a leak!