You should regularly monitor your home for plumbing leaks to avoid serious damage from an undetected issue.
Plumbing is a totally indispensable part of your home – without it, you couldn’t do anything really – but it is also potentially one of the most dangerous things as well. When a pipe bursts, a water heater dies, or a toilet overflows, it can do serious damage. Even a leaking pipe that doesn’t seem to be doing damage to the physical structure of your home (that you know of) could still be hitting your wallet hard. Read on for tips to help you find plumbing leaks before they become massive, expensive plumbing disasters.
Visually Check Pipes
The first tip is the most obvious: you need to be visually checking the pipes you can access. This means that periodically you need to go into your cabinets and check for wetness on, under, or around pipes. Even if they aren’t currently wet, you should also look for signs of water damage, like discoloration of mildew. Your best practice is also going to include having a professional plumber come out once a year for a routine check of your system.
Check Outside Fixtures
When you’re checking your fixtures, don’t forget to check the exterior ones too. These are the ones that most often get forgotten, and leaks from these fixtures can sometimes go unnoticed for months. During the colder months, you should also make sure that you’re disconnecting any hoses and turning the exterior faucets off if you can.
Check Toilets
While you’re doing these checks, check on your toilets – but this is more than just a visual check. Use a few drops of food coloring in the water in the tank of the toilet to check for leaks. Places a few drops of color in the tank and wait to see if the color shows up in the bowl without flushing. If it doesn’t your tank is not leaking into your bowl continuously.
Check Overall Usage
Finally, you need to keep an eye on your overall usage. This means that you should be paying attention to your bill and noticing when it increases substantially. Depending on how your water is billed, it may be hard to notice small spikes caused by minor leaks. You may be able to read your water meter directly, or you could always contact the water company and ask them to give you your monthly usage. When your usage goes up without having a clear cause (like 3 out-of-town guests showering every day for a week, for instance), it is time to look again for leaks.
Call Mahon Plumbing Today
If you still have more questions regarding your plumbing, we here at Mahon Plumbing are here to help. We have been serving the wider Baltimore area since 1994, so we have 25 years of experience to back up our fantastic service! Call us at our Baltimore location at 410-766-8566 or our Pasadena location at 410-636-7944. Be sure to keep up with us on social media by following us on Facebook or Twitter.