Plumbing Service for Detecting Water Leaks | Denton, TX
Water leaks are a significant cause of water loss all around the world. According to various sources, a typical household loses around 2,000 to 20,000 gallons of water on an annual basis because of leakages. When the problem prevails in a home, not only is it a source of unaccountable increases in the water bills, but it can also cause damage to property and aid in the development of fungi and other microorganisms. Therefore, if you suspect that there is a water leak around your house, you should hire a reliable plumbing service in the Denton, TX area, to have a thorough inspection of your home.
There are several ways to check your plumbing for water leaks. Detecting the water leaks will allow you to call for a reliable plumbing service that will take care of the problem in time to avoid emergencies. Following are some of the tips you can make use of to check for water leaks:
Check Your Water Meter
The first thing you should do if you suspect that your household plumbing system has a leak is to check the water meter. If you are not sure where you can find your meter, you can ask your plumbing service to find it for you and read it as well. Check the meter by following these steps:
• Ensure that water is not running either inside or outside of your house.
• On the water meter, there is a leak indicator. If the indicator is moving, then there is a chance that your plumbing has a leak.
• Another way to read the meter is to take two readings, one or two hours apart. If the readings are dissimilar, then you probably have a leak.
Once you are positive, there is a leak; your next step should be to check if it is inside or outside the house. It can be done as follows:
1. Find out where is the main shut off valve and shut it off. In most cases, it is either in the garage or the basement.
2. Check the meter again now. Also, make sure that the water is not being used anywhere in the house. If the leak indicator is not moving anymore and there are no changes in the two-meter readings, then the leak is inside the house. If the indicators keep on moving and the readings are dissimilar, then the leak is outside the home.
3. In case you fail to find the leak, call a plumbing service.
Once you have established that there is a leak, your next step should be to check what part of the plumbing has a leakage. Given below are some of the plumbing areas that are most susceptible to leakages, along with ways to check them for leaks.
Faucets
Faucets usually leak because of a worn-out rubber washer. In most cases, this washer is located below the handle. Replacing these is not a difficult task, but you must possess the right tools for the job. You can buy these tools from your local hardware store, or you can hire a plumbing service to do it for you.
Toilets
Leaking toilets are among the significant causes of water losses. They can lead to the wastage of hundreds of gallons of water and are not easily spotted either. Over a long period of time, even a small water leak in the toilet can cause a lot of water wastage.
Determining if your toilets are leaking is quite a simple task. All you need is some food color. Add a few drops of the food color in the toilet tank’s back. Then wait for around half an hour without flushing. If the coloring appears in the bowl, then there is a leakage.
This is a simple test that you can perform without hiring the services of a plumber. However, to fix the leak, you should always call a reliable plumbing service.
Overflow Tubes
An overflow tube is sometimes found spilling with water. Although this may be the cause of a leak, you should make sure that it is not because the toilet tank is filled above the usual level. If there is no such reason, then you should call for a reliable plumbing service to solve the problem for you.
How to Find Other Water Leaks
The water used for drinking and washing purposes is delivered against the gradient by applying pressure. Therefore, it will be rather easy to find such a leak. However, this is not the case for wastewater, which moves by gravity. As a result, it is quite hard to detect a wastewater leak.
One primary reason why it is hard to detect a leak is that the actual damage may be visible at a distance from the leak. What you should be doing to find leaks involves looking for wet and discolored spots on the walls, ceilings, woodwork, and floors. Also, check the bottom of the bathroom and kitchen cabinets. Make sure that you find the leak to repair it instead of only the damaged spots.
Moreover, you must know that condensation, despite being a normal phenomenon, is also a form of leakage. In the case of excessive condensation, floors, woodworks, walls, and ceilings are prone to damage. Insulating the pipes is a great way to reduce and stop the problem of excessive condensation.
Following the above suggestions can help you a lot in finding any water leaks in your house. However, if you are still unsure about it, then hire a professional plumbing service in the Denton, TX area. One reliable option for you is Bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas services.
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