Tips for Locating Water Leaks in Your Home

10/25/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of East Central Austin Professionals are available 24 hours/7 days a week and will respond quickly to a restoration emergency.

Water leaks are more than just a nuisance. Undetected leaks — or those that are simply ignored — can eventually lead to costly repair and further water damage due to rot, mold growth from extra moisture, and other extensive damage. Finding and fixing a water leak early on & before it gets out of hand can save you money and avert potential disaster.

The first sign of a hidden leak can be a higher than normal water bill. Once you’ve ruled out that the cause isn’t due to extra water use by house guests or from watering your lawn and garden during the warm-weather months, an undetected leak is the likely culprit.

Did you know that fixing easily corrected household water leaks can save homeowners about 10 percent on their water bills? 

There are a few different ways to check for hidden water leaks. The first tool is your water meter.

In addition to telling the utility company how much water you’ve used, your home’s water meter can also be used to your advantage to find hidden water leaks.

Follow these simple steps to uncover your water leak:

1. Stop using all water inside and outside the house. This includes all the indoor faucets, outdoor faucets, water-using appliances, ice makers, and automatic backflow cleaning in whole-house water filters. Don’t flush the toilet during the test.
2. Locate your water meter. If your meter has a water flow indicator, watch the indicator for movement. This is a small rotating wheel on the meter that can detect even small amounts of water flow. If it moves when you know no one’s using any water, then there’s a leak somewhere in your house.
3. If you don’t have a water flow indicator, record the numbers that appear on the meter. Wait a few hours (remember not to use any water during this time).
4. Check the meter. If the meter reading goes up, it’s an indication of a hidden water leak.

Now that you know you have a leak, the next step is pinpointing its exact location. The following are the most common places for a home water leak to occur.

Tub and Shower: Drain Leaks

Drain leaks occur when water sneaks around the outside of the drain where it’s connected to the tub or shower. This means the water is not actually going down the drain. This type of leak is especially common with plastic or fiberglass tubs and shower pans, where the seal around the drain is susceptible to breaking.

In addition to causing mold problems in your Austin TX home, these leaks can stain or destroy the ceiling below or rot floor joists.

How to test for a drain leak

Plug the drain with a test plug (found at home centers) and fill the tub with some water (experts suggest using a test plug instead of your tub drain plug since it may leak). After an hour, check to see if the water level has dropped. If it has dropped, the drain is leaking.

Toilet flange leak

The flange is the part of the toilet that secures the unit to the floor which connects to the drain pipe. If you have a toilet flange leak, water will leak out every time you flush. This can wreck flooring, rot the subfloor and joists, and damage the ceiling in the room below.

How to test for a flange leak

If there are stains on the ceiling in the room directly below the bathroom near the toilet, the cause is most likely a leaking toilet flange. You’ll have to remove the toilet and look for the exact source of the leak, such as cracks in the flange, broken bolts, or a loose flange that isn’t screwed securely to the subfloor.

Another way to test if your toilet has a leak, is to place a few drops of food coloring into the tank. Don’t flush the toilet for one hour; after one hour, check the toilet bowl. If there’s food coloring in the bowl, you have a leak.

To determine what part is leaking, turn off the water supply at the base of the toilet. Draw a line on the tank at the water level. Wait another hour. If the water level drops below the line, the problem is the flush valve (the part inside the tank of the toilet that moves the water into the bowl) or flapper (the part of the toilet that drains water from the tank and into the bowl when you flush).

If the water level stays the same, the leak is the refill valve (refills the toilet tank and bowl to the correct water levels after flushing) or float (a device that allows water to fill the tank without overflowing).

Under sink plumbing leaks

Under the kitchen sink or bath vanity leaks often go unnoticed for a long time since they’re usually at the back of the cabinet.

Water can eventually run down the pipes into the floor or subfloor, rotting the sink base, the floor and the framing.

How to test for an under sink plumbing leak:

Run a dry tissue or napkin along shutoffs and supply line connections and look for wet spots. Also run the dishwasher and check for leaks under it.

Sink drain leaks

Drain leaks in kitchens and bathrooms usually occur at the drain or at the slip joints in the drainpipe. This type of leak can eventually damage flooring, cabinets and even ceilings below before you notice them.

How to test for a sink drain leak:

Plug the sink drain and fill the sink bowl with water. Remove the drain plug; as the water drains, check all joints from the sink to the wall with a dry tissue for any wetness.

It is Always a Good Idea to Seek the Advice of a professional

Finding the source of your home’s water leak can be difficult. There are many other potential causes of leaks, including water heaters (especially older models that rust and corrode over time), washing machines (ruptured cold or hot water supply hose), refrigerators (leak or rupture of automatic ice maker) and dishwashers (ruptured water supply line).

If you have trouble pinpointing the exact cause, contact a professional plumber.

Check for leaks outdoors

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it’s important to routinely check not only for indoor leaks, but outdoor leaks as well.

• Your irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it wasn’t damaged by frost or freezing.
• Check your garden hose for leaks at its connection to the spigot. Check all of your spigots by looking for leaks as well as listening for running water in the pipe. 
• Inspect the pump, lining and pipes of your pool for any obvious drips. Also note if your pool seems to be losing water at a faster rate than normal, which may indicate a leak. 

Repairing leaks

If you find a leak, there are many DIY videos online that can show you how to fix most problems. While small projects like toilet leaks are easily tackled by the DIYers, pipe leaks and other complicated leaks are best left to the hands of a professional plumber.

If your leak is extensive and has caused damage to your home, don’t wait to take action!

Under the right conditions, mold can begin to grow in as little as 24 to 48 hours.

Major water leaks can also lead to costly structural damage, especially in places you can’t see — above the ceiling, behind walls or beneath floors.

Contact our SERVPRO team as soon as possible to mitigate the problem. We can be reached 24/7 at (512) 420-9886.