How to Find a Hidden Water Leak.

There you are, minding your own business, when suddenly you start opening your mail. Right on top is the water bill. You look once and think “no way”. So, you check the addressee box to see if it was delivered to the wrong house. Nope. You look again, hoping your eyes were playing tricks on you. Sorry, no cigar.

The bill is yours alright which you promptly verify following a call to the water company. After doing a little investigating and grilling family members to determine who the culprit might be, you can’t find anything amiss.

And then it hits you: “We must have a water leak!” At least we hope it hits you since the longer you wait the worse the problem can become, and not just in terms of high water bills. Hidden leaks can cause structural damage, electrical fires, and mold formation.

Here are some helpful tips on how to uncover a hidden water leak and make it stop!

• Water meter – If your water bill is climbing but water usage remains constant, here’s what to do. Take a water meter reading and, for at least one half hour, don’t use any household water, including flushing the toilet. Check the meter a second time and, if the meter has moved, you have a leak.
• Damp spots on lawn – Either your lawn is wet or dry – or at least that’s how it should be. If, however, you have one patch that’s wet and perhaps greener than the rest, chances are a sewer pipe is leaking.
• Slab leak – Do you have a basement family room covered by a carpet?  If so, and you step on a wet spot, first ask the kids if anything was spilled. If not, chances are there’s a slab leak under that spot.
• Toilet tank – Just like the bowl, a toilet tank can leak water from even a hairline crack. If you suspect such a leak, pour a few drops of food dye into the tank and wait about 5 minutes or so. If the bowl water is tinted with the same color, voila, another leak.
• Black mold – Has black mold suddenly started to form on your ceiling or walls? If so, you need to check above the ceiling – perhaps in your attic – to check for a leaking pipe.

Any kind of water leak is a problem to be dealt with, especially those it takes you some time to locate. So, at the first sign of trouble, contact Best Choice Plumbers for prompt service and results that we’re confident will exceed your expectations.