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!