How to Detect Leaks in your Home or Business Plumbing

Monitor your water meter

One of the easiest ways of detecting a leak is using a water meter gage. Turn off your water before you leave for work in the morning. When you come back later, check to see if the water usage has changed. If it has, that’s a key indicator that there may be a leak somewhere in your home. If the amount of water used increases, that’s a telltale sign of indoor plumbing issues.  

Check for discoloration due to leaks in your walls

This tip seems straightforward, yet many homeowners fail to overlook discoloration of walls. A good place to start is around all plumbing in your home. Check under sinks, behind toilets and any walls that have plumbing near them. If water is leaking inside of a wall, the wall will eventually begin to discolor on the outer surface. Depending on whether you have dry wall, wallpaper, wood, or sheetrock, the discoloration could vary. If you have a second story bathroom, check the downstairs ceilings. Check patches of ceiling directly underneath your bathroom.

Listen to your walls

If you have good enough hearing, you can sometimes hear a leak through the walls. Even if you’re not seeing visible damage, your walls can “talk”.  Listen after you turn off the shower. If you still hear water running, there could be a leak behind the shower wall. Most modern day homes are equipped with plastic PVC plumbing pipe which amplify sound. Long-term leak exposure can cause structural damage within your walls, and can also lead to serious mold problems. Mold in your home could have detrimental effect of health to anyone who lives in the home. Be cautious if you have an older home. Older houses (1940 or older) usually have iron piping which can make finding leaks much more difficult.

Pay attention to any unusual odors

When water combines with different materials in your walls, it could result in a foul musty smell. If the leak is left unattended, the water in the wall never gets a chance to dry out. This could leave it with a humid, musty smell. Sometimes it’s difficult to visually detect leaks. Thick drywall can act like a sponge. It absorbs mass amounts of water, depending on degrees of thickness, and sometimes is blind to the naked eye. You may be able to find a leak using your sense of smell.

Ask a professional

The easiest and most effective way to detect plumbing leaks in your home is with expensive high tech equipment. A professional leak detection expert has both the equipment and experience to diagnose hidden damage in your plumbing system that can waste money and wreck your home. Tony Dugas has over 15 years of experience in this area and will assist you in locating leaks before you hire a plumber. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to call!

Pro Tips: End of Summer Pool Maintenance

It’s been one of the hottest summers in a long time. If you’re fortunate enough to own a pool, it probably took a beating this staycation season. Here are some helpful tips on maintaining your backyard oasis once the kids return to school.

1. Check for Pool Leaks

Concrete pools can leak through a crack in the shell, most commonly in the tile line, or through small voids surrounding pipes that come through the wall. Another common pool issue is the skimmer leak, at the interface of the plastic skimmer and concrete pool wall.

Checking for leaks also can save money. Having a professional leak detection company could save you time and water. If your water bills have suddenly risen and you’re not using more water than usual, the increase in consumption could be due to a water leak. Keep track of your usage and pay attention your meter. If you are not using any water in your home and the meter continues to tick, you could have a leak.

As little as one inch of pool water loss a day could result in thousands of gallons lost in a season. Having to replace water, chemicals, heating and damaged equipment resulting from low pool water levels can add up quickly.

2. Cover your Pool

It helps children to be safe if left unattended. Not only does this help when you have little ones running around, it also helps to prevent creatures from crawling in. If a raccoon, opossum, or other furry animal falls in your pool, they could leave claw marks, damaging the interior lining of the pool.

3. Check Your System to Prevent Winter Freeze

Before the temperature begins to drop, remember to check your pipes and all motorized parts. Drain all the water from the pump, filter, and/or pool heater. This small amount of water can do a lot of damage as the water inside them expands, it gets close to freezing, and this causes an increase in pressure inside the pipe. If that happens, the pipes can crack, which can cost serious money in the long run.

Tony Dugas, owner of Leak Quest Leak Detection, has decades of experience with plumbing and detecting leaks in pools and water features. Call Leak Quest at (337) 288-4287 to get expert advice and quick service when diagnosing hidden leaks that can drain your wallet.