If you are like many homeowners, then you would not think of the leaky faucet as a problem. It is just something that must be deal with every few days or so. But what if it’s not your faucet? What if there is a leak in your water pipe leading to the kitchen sink? Or maybe even worse, there is a leak in your toilet tank, and one day when you flush, all the water disappears! Can you imagine how much water will have been wasted by this time?! There are some things we can do before calling out an expensive plumber. In this guide, I am going to show you how to find home leaks!
Meter Conversion
Before starting your search for a water pipe leak, you need to convert the measurement from inches or feet into meters. To do this, multiply by 0.3048 (or divide) and then round up to one decimal place:
A faucet with a flow rate of two gallons per minute would be measured as about 0.68 meters per minute.
A leak in a water pipe with the same flow rate would be about 0.44 meters per hour overtime if it were constant, and more than twice that for one instantaneous use without stopping to refill.
So why is this conversion important? If you are trying to measure how long your toilet tank has been leaking before you find it, you don’t want to measure in feet or inches. Toilet tank leaks will be measured as gallons per day and meters per hour of use.
If the toilet is leaking at a rate of one gallon every three hours, that’s four liters over 24 hours which converts to about 0.44 meters per hour.
Water Supply Leak Lines
The Water Supply Line is the pipe that brings water to your home. If one of these pipes is leaking, it will result in a leak inside and outside of your house.
*It can be difficult to find these leaks because they typically occur just below or beside the ground where most people don’t look.*
A way to check for this type of leak would be to dig a hole about two feet deep and cover the hole with plastic. The next day if you see water on top of or flowing out from under the plastic, then that is likely to be your problem area.
Faucet Leak
A Faucet Leak is just what it sounds like–a leak in your faucets. This typically happens when the washers inside of them wear out or fall off, which allows water to continuously flow through the pipes and into your home.
One way to detect a Faucet Leak would be by watching your water meter. If it continues to increase, then you have a leak somewhere. You can also test for this type of leak by turning off all the faucets in your home and seeing if the meter drops back down to zero. If not, there is a good chance that one or more of your faucets has a leak.
One way to fix a Faucet Leak is by replacing the washers in your faucets or adjusting them if they were previously adjusted. You can purchase new ones at any hardware store and anyone who knows how to turn on their kitchen sink should have no problems with this task.
If you would like help finding and fixing leaks, contact a plumber.
Toilet Leak
A toilet leak can be detected by following these steps:
Watch the water level in your toilet tank. If it steadily drops, you may have a leak on one of your connections or valves. You can also check for this type of problem by noticing if there is any greyish-white residue around the base of the toilet bowl.
Make sure your toilet is not leaking from the tank by pumping a few times and make sure that you are using at least one gallon of water every time.
If it’s still running after doing this, turn off the supply valve to check for leaks on connections or valves. If none appear, then there may be an issue with the tank.
If this is the case, you will need to replace the toilet.
Check for leakage by adding a few drops of food coloring into the bowl and wait fifteen minutes. If there is any color in the basin after that time period, then your seal or flush valve may be faulty and needs to be replaced.
Please note that it is not recommended to do this unless the toilet has been running for a considerable amount of time.
Humidifier Leaks
A Humidifier is a machine that releases water vapor into the air to increase humidity levels.
One of the most common mistakes people make is forgetting that humidifiers need refilling with fresh water, and can run dry during operation if not refilled periodically. The result? A leaking Humidifier will need replacement or repair work after this occurs.
To avoid this problem, it is important to keep the humidifier filled with water so that there are no leaks. A leaking Humidifier can be repaired or replaced depending on the severity of damage and how much time has passed since the leak occurred. Therefore, when refilling a Humidifier please take care not to spill any water to avoid this problem.
Also read: 24 Hour Plumbing Emergency Guide
