When Should You Carry Out Plumbing Leak Detection in Your Home?

Early plumbing leak detection helps homeowners locate and fix leaks before they cause structural damage to the home. You shouldn't wait to notice a wet patch on your floor or ceiling to start the leak detection process. By the time you spot a leak, it may have caused costly water damage to your home. With this in mind, here are three factors that should prompt you to conduct plumbing leak detection in your home.

Old plumbing pipes

Does your home have old plumbing pipes? If so, the risk of plumbing leaks is higher than in properties with newer plumbing systems. Over time, pipes wear out due to corrosion, high water pressure, damaged joints, broken seals and underground movement. When a weakness occurs in the piping, it causes the water to drip on the surrounding structure. 

Minor plumbing leaks can go unnoticed for months, only to become noticeable once your building has suffered extensive damage. If you have old pipes, it's vital to conduct preventive leak detection every one or two years. This exercise will reveal small leaks due to age-related pipe wear. It will also help you determine whether it's time to invest in new plumbing pipes for your home.

Unexplained changes in water pressure

Water pressure problems can arise due to clogged pipes, faulty pressure pumps or low pressure from the supply system. Low pressure could also be caused by an underground plumbing leak. Plumbing leaks that cause fluctuations in water pressure occur outdoors most of the time. Since the pipe is buried underground, the leak may go unnoticed for a long time.

Plumbing leak detection can unearth underground leaks and help resolve water pressure issues. If you suspect an underground plumbing leak, walk around your property and look for unusually wet spots on your lawn or garden. Check for wet outdoor flooring, which signifies water is seeping into the flooring from the ground. The water pressure in your home will stabilise once you fix the leak.

Abnormally high water bills

High water bills that are not accompanied by an increase in domestic water usage should concern you. Your bills may be higher than usual if you have a faulty water meter. However, if the meter is in good condition, you may have a plumbing leak. Carry out the following simple test to locate the problem:

• Turn off all the taps in the home and shut off the main supply valve.
• Record the reading on your water meter.
• Wait for 30 minutes and check the reading again.

If the second reading on the meter isn't the same as the initial reading, you have a plumbing leak. Locate and fix the damaged pipe to lower your water bill.

Contact a plumbing contractor for non-invasive leak detection and plumbing pipe repair.   

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