How To Test If You Have A Water Leak

How to observe a water leak
Detect leaks underground in your home
Mutual places for water leaks
How to find water leaks outside or in your garden
Finding water leaks under concrete

Whether you rent or ain your ain home, there'due south a good risk that, at some indicate, you've found yourself lying awake at night listening to the baste, drip, baste of water and wondered a) where it was coming from and b) just how bad it might exist when you eventually work information technology out.

Maybe you lot've woken to a flooded kitchen considering your dishwasher or washing car has leaked or to a puddle of h2o and a hole in the ceiling because of a outburst pipe.

None of these situations are that surprising, or that uncommon, unfortunately. According to the Clan of British Insurers (ABI), at to the lowest degree i in four building and contents insurance claims are down to leaky or burst pipes (or what insurance companies call an 'escape of water').

Water harm in the dwelling is incredibly costly for insurance companies (they pay out around £1.8 million a twenty-four hours), and it could exist plush for you if you're on a h2o meter or demand to pay for a plumber to fix the problem.

While you can't avoid all leaks, you lot tin take steps to reduce the take chances of significant damage to your home or your banking company balance.

Sometimes leaks aren't as apparent as a constant drip, drip, drip that keeps you up at night. In fact, they're generally much more subtle until the drip becomes a inundation, which is why detecting them early is cardinal.

How to notice a h2o leak in your firm

Engineer installing Leakbot

You lot tin find a water leak in your house, even if you can't run across any water by:

Checking your water usage regularly then y'all tin can encounter whatever sudden increases that you tin can't account for (having visitors, for case, or watering the garden more in hot weather), which could be a sign of a leak. Sign-up for an online account or inquire your h2o supplier to send you lot monthly statements and then you lot tin can proceed an eye of the h2o you're using.
Noticing a drop in h2o pressure when you're filling the bath or taking a shower, this could be a sign of a leak. Y'all can check by turning off all your fixtures then turning one back on. If the force per unit area is higher than it was, information technology's probably a leak.

Life Hack: However, in a shower, low pressure can also exist because of a clogged showerhead thanks to a build-up of limescale or, if your shower is over your bath, you could accept a faulty Shower/Bath diverter. Clean your showerhead using a limescale remover and check the Shower/Bath diverter to come across if this makes a difference.

Monitoring when your hot h2o heater/banality comes on – if information technology'due south on almost constantly, yous could have a leak in your hot water pipe. These will generally be underground and could be harder to find than other leaks.

Wondering how to notice a water leak surreptitious?

Look out for pools of water or clammy patches on your floor with no visible signs at that place's a leak in your ceiling. Smells are a giveaway as well – underground leaks tend to have longer to come through which leads to mould and mildew, both of which have a distinctive scent.

If you lot don't want to take to keep looking for signs of a leak, consider using a leak detection tool. There are several on the market place, and all work slightly differently. With Leakbot, for example, you attach it about your stop tap, and it uses technology to monitor the temperature of the water going through your taps.

A leak detection tool triggers an warning if there'south a leak, which gets sent to you on a mobile app, giving you a chance to take a await and see if it'due south something you can set up, or go far bear on with a plumber. The time and money a leak detection tool could potentially salvage yous makes them well worth the minor, initial investment.

Common Places for H2o Leaks

Shower running

If y'all recall you have a leak and don't have a leak detector that tells yous where information technology might be, there are some mutual culprits around the home information technology's worth checking beginning:

H2o tank/boiler: Cheque the valves that take water into/out of your banality or water tank. You should rapidly exist able to see a leak. If in that location isn't whatever water escaping, look for signs of a slow leak including marks on the flooring below the valve or a hissing sound. If you have a central heating boiler, this isn't something you tin fix yourself, and a leak may be a sign of something seriously incorrect, so contact a specialist.
Toilets: Considering of how much nosotros apply them, it isn't unusual for a toilet to commencement leaking. This isn't usually something to worry about, only it can be costly if it's continuously running. Yous might exist able to prepare it yourself; changing a washer out is relatively straightforward, for example, and saves you money rather than calling a plumber.

Life hack: If y'all aren't sure your toilet is leaking, a trick is to put nutrient colouring it the tank and leave information technology for ten minutes. If you get back and the water in the basin is the same colour every bit the h2o in the tank, y'all've got a leak.

Showerheads: Much similar toilets, nosotros use showers on a regular, if not daily, ground. This means the parts starting time to wearable down and you are likely to observe leaks. We've already talked about how depression pressure could be the sign of a leak (as well as a clogged showerhead), then it makes sense this would be one of the first places to await if y'all retrieve y'all have a trouble.
Appliances: Through everyday utilize, appliances tin can shift slightly from their original position, which can loosen valves and pipes and pb to leaks. Check them regularly to make sure all the attachments are secure.

Water leaks can happen inside or outside the abode. We've already looked at where to look for leaks inside, but what about outside – where practise yous start?

How to observe a water leak outside or in the garden

Lush green garden

If yous tin can't find any visible signs of a h2o leak inside your home, y'all tin can make up one's mind if it's inside but hidden (hugger-mugger, for instance) or exterior by checking your h2o meter. First, turn off the stop tap then that no water is going into your house; you tin check information technology's off by running a tap till no h2o comes out.

Once you lot'd done this check the meter to run across if the dial is still moving, if it is, then the leak is on the supply line outside your home. If information technology isn't, then the leak will be inside, either on an internal piping or through your appliances.

When you've adamant that the leak is outside, start looking for signs. If your meter is installed in your garden, this might include seeing if there are muddy patches effectually the pipe or if the grass seems to be growing meliorate than in other parts of your backyard.

Finding out how bad the leak is may – unfortunately – involve digging your lawn upward. This is something you might want to do before calling a plumber to meet if it's something you lot can gear up yourself. If the leak is under concrete, you will need to look for other signs.

How to detect a h2o leak under concrete

While looking for a water leak nether concrete is more complicated than trying to detect a leaky tap in your bathroom, it isn't incommunicable. Nosotros've already mentioned looking out for damp patches on the floor (with no visible sign of a leak in the ceiling) and the smell of mould or mildew when you're looking for underground leaks, and both of these apply for leaks under concrete.

You also desire to look out for cracks in the physical itself, a upshot of h2o escaping, or uneven surfaces, meaning the concrete is being pushed up by the leaking water below.

What to do if you practise jump a leak

Washing machine with clothes

If you lot practise find a leak, the first thing you demand to do is work out if it's serious. Is it going to get worse quickly and cause pregnant damage? Alternatively, is it limited to a particular apparatus, a toilet or washing machine for example? If it'south a significant leak, we always recommend contacting a plumber to safely resolve the problem.

If it's a small-scale leak that you tin set, you tin turn off the water to the appliance while you become the supplies you need to make repairs. If it's a more significant leak, however, yous will need to turn off the h2o at the cease tap, which will mean no water is going into your house and the leak shouldn't get any worse.
Important: You should also turn off the electrics to whatsoever function of the house afflicted by the leak.

It's worth mentioning that, often, people get to turn off the tap merely to find information technology's stuck because information technology has been then long since it was concluding turned. If you lot can't turn off the tap, you can't stop the leak so make certain you lot turn it regularly, rather than risk harm to your property.

Read our guide on common h2o leaks in the home and how to fix them.

Don't permit a flare-up piping or blocked drain deadening you down. Take out plumbing and drainage comprehend and get access to a nationwide network of trusted engineers.