Leaks are sneaky. Sometimes you won’t notice you have one at all. Maybe you have received your water bill and it’s much higher than expected. If your general family situation hasn’t changed, then it could be due to a leak. In this article we will look at property maintenance plumbing issues, most especially, how to locate those pesky leaks. You may think most are found in the kitchen or bathroom, but many are actually located elsewhere.
Property Maintenance Plumbing : Your Meter
If you suspect a leak in your plumbing then you should really call in a licensed plumber. If you are going to get busy looking for a leak yourself, then always err on the side of caution. First of all, shut of the water supply to your home and head to your meter cupboard. After a few minutes, your meter should not turn at all once you have shut off the supply. If your meter still moves, then you are losing water somewhere. Depending on how quickly the meter moves, you can work out if you have a small or big leak. But this still leads us to the problem of locating the leak itself.
If looking at the meter hasn’t helped you to fathom out why you are consuming more water, next take your water bill. If you have the same amount of family member living with you, and washing and cleaning habits have stayed the same, then your water bill should not vary greatly. One more person living in your home could increase usage however. So could people taking baths instead of showers in winter, or your new dishwasher. If you replace an old washing machine with a new eco one, then your water bill should on the other hand definitely decrease.
If your bill has increased and you can think of no logical explanation, then you could have a leak. You could however also have appliances that are getting older and using more water than they are programmed to do.
Outdoors
The leak that you can’t find indoors may actually be outdoors. Property maintenance plumbing should also include outdoor areas. In summer time, have you been using a sprinkler system? Have you used a hosepipe and forgot to cut it off? Perhaps you have an outdoor water feature that has been leaking? These are all possibilities, and they won’t show up as damp patches inside your home. Finding the source of the leak is only the first stage however. Unless it is something simple like a running hose pipe, you will need to make repairs.
Once you have sourced a leak inside your home, it is advisable that you don’t turn back on your water supply. Instead, call in a plumber. Unless the leak is extremely slow, and you have tested this by looking at the meter, you could be causing damage to your property. A licensed plumber will be able to confirm if you indeed do have a leak, locate it, and find the best solution to put things right. Your water pipes can corrode over time, and it is not uncommon in older homes for leaks to occur. So, with the advice of your vetted plumber, set to work to fix that leak and stop your water bill from rising even further.