The thought of dealing with a water leak is enough to scare the average homeowner. But unless your pipes have burst, most water leaks are pretty easy to take care of. You just need two things: a little knowledge and a willingness to get your hands dirty.
Not interested in finding and preventing leaks? No problems. Contractors like Salt Lake City’s Beehive Plumbing are more than happy to do the work. But if you’re willing to learn some new things and try it, the rest of this post will clue you in on some fundamentals of leak detection and prevention.
7 Ways to Detect Leaks
Beehive Plumbing says there are seven ways to detect residential plumbing leaks. Only the first two apply to the average homeowner. Nonetheless, I will briefly mention the other five.
1. Routine Observation
Homeowners tend to discover leaks through routine observation. They notice wet spots on floors or walls. They notice a ceiling stain that wasn’t there before. Casual observations can reveal leaks through:
- Higher water bills
- Unusual sounds (dripping, gurgling, etc.)
- Mold growth or water pooling in unexpected places
You might suspect you have a leak even though you have observed nothing out of the ordinary. If that is the case, the next detection method might be in order.
2. Water Meter Monitoring
Water meter monitoring is a cheap and easy trick. Turn off all the water fixtures in your home. Then head outdoors with a flashlight (or down to the basement if applicable) and look at the meter. If it is still running, you have a leak somewhere. Now you can start looking in all the obvious places: sink connections, toilet connections, tub and shower, and outdoor spigots.
3. Professional Detection Methods
Beehive says that professionals have access to more advanced equipment for detecting leaks. Here are some of the detection methods they prefer:
- Acoustic leak detection
- Video pipe inspection
- Soil probes
- Ground penetrating radar
- Smart water leak detectors
Professionals will bring out the heavy guns if casual observation and water meter monitoring don’t do the trick.
Preventing Water Leaks at Home
If you don’t like the idea of hunting for water leaks, the best way to avoid the task is to prevent leaks from forming. How do you do that? You start with regular inspections.
Give your plumbing a once over every few months. Check for loose fixtures, signs of corrosion, and seals that look like they are starting to wear. If you can replace worn-out components early enough, they will not start leaking.
Here some additional suggestions:
Routine Maintenance – Address routine maintenance tasks. For example, replace worn washers and seals. Tighten connections at the toilet, washing machine, and under the sink.
Check Water Pressure – Regularly checking water pressure to keep it at 40-60 psi is a good idea. If it gets too high and you don’t know what to do about it, call a plumber.
Insulate Pipes – If you live in a cold-weather environment, insulate any exposed pipes. These are pipes in basements, crawlspaces, and attics. Insulating them will prevent freezing and bursting.
If you find small leaks during your routine inspections, take care of them right away. Small leaks are easy enough to fix. Major leaks are not.
Also note that it is worth investing in high-quality parts whenever you are doing minor Utah plumbing and HVAC contractor serving Salt Lake, Utah, and Davis counties repair work. Plumbing is something that falls under the ‘you get what you pay for’ category. It’s better to spend a little more upfront on parts you know you can trust. After all, who needs leaks?
