If you have a water leak in your home, finding the leak and having it repaired by a reputable local plumber as soon as possible is important. Water leaks not only waste water and cost money, but water leaks can cause serious damage to your foundation, walls, floors, and ceilings. Water leaks can happen in the water supply line that leads to your home, in the plumbing pipes inside your home, and in your plumbing fixtures.
Plumbing leaks in your fixtures are usually easy to identify. A dripping showerhead or faucet will be obvious, but you may not notice a toilet that is leaking water internally. You can check your toilets by adding a few drops of dye or food coloring to the tank. If the water in the bowl changes color, then your toilet is leaking. The flapper valve is the usual source of these leaks although you may have a malfunctioning or improperly adjusted fill valve.
Leaks in the interior plumbing of your home will often be easy to spot if they cause wet spots and water stains on ceilings, walls, and floors but you may not notice leaking water pipes under your home in your basement or crawlspace. Check under your home with a strong flashlight for dripping pipes, puddles, or damp earth. If your home is built on a slab, leaks underneath the slab can be hard to spot. An unusually warm or cold area of your floor can indicated a leaky pipe under the slab.
A water leak in your water supply line or irrigation sprinkler system will usually appear as a soft or mushy spot in the yard that never seems to dry up. If you suspect a water leak in your water supply line, your interior plumbing or in your plumbing fixtures, get the leak repaired quickly by a reputable local plumber.
