Leak Detection At Home

In the previous article, we discussed How To Determine A Leak At Home if you have followed these steps and discovered you have a water leak within your home here’s what you need to do next.

There are various points in the home where water can be leaking you need to check them all

Taps

Dripping taps are probably the most common cause of water leaks. Check every tap in your home, first of all, check the tap itself.

Is it dripping?

If yes check it’s turned off properly.  If it hasn’t been turned off properly educate everyone in your home on closing taps. Children and older people with arthritis don’t always have the strength to turn taps off fully (especially traditional washer type taps) in this instance, you may consider changing your taps.

Taps contain washers or mechanisms that wear overtime if your taps turned off properly and is dripping this is likely the cause of your leak, you’ll need to replace the washer/mechanism or the tap itself to remedy this. Also, check the tap connectors themselves, loose connections will leak.

Toilets

Leaking Toilets are never obvious; the water leaks discreetly down the pan.

The easiest way to check a leaking Toilet is to remove the lid and pour in some fabric conditioner or food dye.

Wait 15-20 minutes and look in the bowl if you see any colour then there’s something causing a leak in the cistern caused by the flush valve or the fill valve.

Shut off the water supply to the toilet and mark the water level with a marker pen.

Wait 15 minutes and check the water level. If the water levels dropped, then the leaks probably coming from the flush valve if the levels stayed the same then the leaks probably coming from the fill valve.

Sometimes toilet leaks are caused by cracked toilets you’ll know if you have a cracked toilet as there will be a regular puddle of water at the base of the toilet or staining on the floor.

Also check the water connection to the toilet as with taps loose connections will cause leaks

Water Tank

Water tanks can leak in several places the most common being the float valve, other areas include the pipes and joints leading to and from the tank, the gate valve and splits in the tank itself.

If the float valve’s incorrectly set at to high a level then water will constantly run out of the overflow in the tank, a simple adjustment of the float valve setting the water to the correct level should remedy this.

Leaks in joints may be remedied by tightening (be careful if you attempt this).

A leaking gatevalve or a split in the tank should be looked at by a professional plumber.

Other Causes Of Leaks

Over the years we have found that Taps, Toilets and Tanks are the most common causes of leaks around the home if you have checked all these and still haven’t found a leak check your shower, radiator valves, water pumps and boiler next check any visible water pipes and connections (such as under the sink).

Need Any Help?

If you find your leak and you’re not sure of the next course of action, or you can’t find the leak give us a call, we can advise you or visit your home. One of our Plumbers will detect and rectify any leaks in no time. Remember don’t attempt any repairs yourself unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing if you’re unsure always use a professional Plumber.