“How do I detect leaks” is a common question of every home owner. There are many ways to check if there’s a leak in your plumbing system.
Table of Contents
Check your water meter
Turn off all water supply inside and outside your house. Once done, check the water indicator on your meter if it is moving. If it still rotates even when no water is running through your faucets, you may have a leak.
Another way is to take a meter reading, followed by another water reading after 2 to 3 hours. Make sure all water is turned off the entire time. If there’s a change in the reading, you most likely have a leak.
Check if the source of the leak is inside or outside the house.
If you suspect that there’s a leak, the next step is to find out where it’s coming from.
To do this, you need to find the main water supply valve and turn it off. It is usually located at the basement or at the garage connect to an outdoor faucet or outside the house.
Look at the water meter and observe if the water indicator is moving. If it isn’t moving and if there’s no change in the meter reading, it means that the leak is inside the house. But if it continues to move, it means that the leak is located outside the house.
If you did the mentioned steps and is still unsure of where the leak is, you can call a plumber to detect it.
Check if there are any leaking faucets.
If you notice that the water on your faucet is dripping even when turned off, you have a leaking faucet. This is usually caused by wear and tear of the rubber washer. The rubber washer is usually found beneath the faucet handle.
You can replace the rubber washer on hour own with the right tools. First, you need to shut off the valve that supplies water to the sink and remove the faucet handle. When you buy a rubber washer, your local hardware store will also let you in on how to replace it.
Check if you have a leaking toilet.
Toilet leaks can consume big volumes of water and can go unnoticed. To check if you have a leaking toilet, open tbe tank cover and add a few drops of fopd colouring. Cloth dyes are another alternative if you don’t have food colouring.
Leave it for about 30 minutes and then see if the food colouring has affected the toilet bowl. If the colour of the water has changed, you have a leaking toilet.
There’s not need to worry because most toilet leaks are easy to repair. All you need to do is replace the toilet flapper, which you can buy at a home store or hardware.
The flapper is the rubber valve at the bottom of the toilet tank. It opens and closes every time you flush the toilet. A defective or cracked flapper doesn’t seal the opening very well. It results in a continuous flow of water even when after you have flushed the toilet. When left unfixed, you will get a high water bill.
