Detecting Water Leaks In Your House
If you have a water leak anywhere in your home it can cost you more money than you think as far as your water bill, and an undetected leak can cause damage to structures of the house, depending upon where the leak is located. Here are some tips on detecting leaks in various parts of the house:
Check the toilets. A running toilet will use lots of water, and you will just end up paying for water that your are not using. A toilet that is not leaking should be as silent as a judge, with no hissing or leaking noise. If you are not sure, take a drop or two of food colouring and drop it into the tank, and then watch and see if any of the coloured water makes it into the bowl. If it does, you have a leak from the tank out to the bowl. The problem is probably in the flapper at the tank’s bottom, allowing water to seep through, so just replace the flapper.
If you have more than one toilet, check them all. If you have a shut-off valve at your house, shut off the water and then go look at the meter if it is beyond the shutoff valve. If the meter is still running, you have a leak between the meter and the house. You may have saved some money when you call the plumber, just by locating the leak. If you have a shower, check the shower head for leaks. If you find the leak there, simply replace the shower head. If you find that a pipe is leaking anywhere along the water line, it can be taped and pretty well repaired in that manner.
Do an online search if you are unsure how to do this. Stopping a leak here can also prevent an outbreak of mould, which can create another problem altogether.
If you have a water leak anywhere in your home it can cost you more money than you think as far as your water bill, and an undetected leak can cause damage to structures of the house, depending upon where the leak is located. Here are some tips on detecting leaks in various parts of the house:
Check the toilets. A running toilet will use lots of water, and you will just end up paying for water that your are not using. A toilet that is not leaking should be as silent as a judge, with no hissing or leaking noise. If you are not sure, take a drop or two of food colouring and drop it into the tank, and then watch and see if any of the coloured water makes it into the bowl. If it does, you have a leak from the tank out to the bowl. The problem is probably in the flapper at the tank’s bottom, allowing water to seep through, so just replace the flapper.
If you have more than one toilet, check them all. If you have a shut-off valve at your house, shut off the water and then go look at the meter if it is beyond the shutoff valve. If the meter is still running, you have a leak between the meter and the house. You may have saved some money when you call the plumber, just by locating the leak. If you have a shower, check the shower head for leaks. If you find the leak there, simply replace the shower head. If you find that a pipe is leaking anywhere along the water line, it can be taped and pretty well repaired in that manner.
Do an online search if you are unsure how to do this. Stopping a leak here can also prevent an outbreak of mould, which can create another problem altogether.