Have a water leak that’s bugging you because you can’t find it?\u00a0 You’re not alone. Water leak detection can be tricky.\u00a0 Based on data from the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the average US household looses some 5-10% of its total water usage to leaks. But it’s not just a matter of water bills and conservation.\u00a0 Any lingering dampness leads to mold and other water damage no matter where or how well its hidden.\u00a0 Today’s electronic leak detection services mean no more unnecessary holes to repair after someone’s tried to track down the source.\u00a0 That includes slab leaks buried beneath concrete floors.<\/p>\n
You may not be sure if you actually have a leak.\u00a0 Often the only clue is a jump in the monthly water bill.\u00a0 (By the way, the average 4-person household in the US uses around 12,000 gallons a month in indoor and outdoor uses.)\u00a0 To avoid water damage repairs such as replacing carpet, wood floors, and drywall, be alert to the various clues that suggest water leaks.<\/p>\n
If there’s a big leak you might actually hear the hiss of water spraying or gurgling.\u00a0 Or you may notice a drop in water pressure.\u00a0 Both are signs of big problems requiring immediate attention.\u00a0 Is your toilet frequently refilling?\u00a0 There’s probably a leak between the tank and bowl.<\/p>\n
Do you smell any faint musty odor of mold?\u00a0 Then you probably have a plumbing or building water leak somewhere.\u00a0 Check the attic, any crawl space, around windows and doors, and in humid bathrooms.<\/p>\n
Toilets are often the biggest waster, but a single dripping faucet or shower can waste a thousand gallons or more per year.\u00a0 Also be on the lookout for signs of hidden leaks.\u00a0 These include damp, cold, or warm spots as well as discolored areas (water stains).\u00a0 Don’t forget to check inside cabinets and\u00a0under sinks as well as around the water heater.\u00a0 Don’t forget that drain and sewer lines can also release water.<\/p>\n
You can use utility’s meter to test for\u00a0water leak detection.\u00a0 Turn off all water users (don’t forget toilets and ice makers), then check your water meter.\u00a0 If the small dial is spinning you have a pretty big leak.\u00a0 Otherwise, write down the meter reading then wait a couple of hours with everything still turned off.\u00a0 If the meter has changed you have a smaller leak.\u00a0 There are many types of meters, so you’ll need to check your local utility’s website for info on how to open and read it.<\/p>\n
It’s important to know that many older meters don’t register flows below about 1 pint per minute.\u00a0 That’s still over 300 gallons per day, so it’s possible to have a significant water leak that can’t be detected by this method.<\/p>\n
If you’re still unsure, or know you have a leak but can’t find its source, electronic leak detection services are a fast and dependable way to avoid any further property damage.\u00a0 Combining several different leak detection technologies often gives the best results in determining if there is indeed a problem and then pinpointing its location.\u00a0 But only some local plumbers,\u00a0such as ASAP Drains & Plumbing,\u00a0have specialists trained in their use.<\/p>\n
Most plumbers can perform a pressure test that’s more sensitive than meter reading.\u00a0 After shutting off the supply as well as all uses they can measure small drops in pressure as water escapes.\u00a0 But that water can travel quite a distance before surfacing as dampness or other evidence, so it’s no help in locating leaks.<\/p>\n
Electronic acoustic leak detection methods are the most widely used.\u00a0 For major issues an experienced plumber can just use their ears.\u00a0 But it usually takes more.\u00a0 Draining pipes then pressurizing them with air or nitrogen produces a high-frequency hiss that’s loudest at frequencies above the human range of hearing.\u00a0 So a special microphone and electronics detects faint sounds and translates them down in frequency.\u00a0 A meter read-out quantifies the sound level and aids in tracking down the spot where it’s the loudest.\u00a0 Acoustic instruments work well on slab leaks with pipes several inches underneath the slab foundation, but not so well for outdoor water lines buried more than a few feet deep.<\/p>\n
The presence of moisture changes the heat conductivity of most porous materials.\u00a0 Thermal imaging instruments are special digital cameras that see in the infrared (heat) spectrum.\u00a0 Showing differences of 0.1 deg. F (or less) they paint a picture of dampness hiding behind seemingly dry surfaces.\u00a0 And a hot water leak is a big red flag.<\/p>\n
Homes and small businesses rarely have blueprints showing where plumbing was run.\u00a0 By attaching a special RF (radio frequency) transmitter to a pipe and using a small receiver plumbers can trace the location of pipes and in turn the likely location of leaks.\u00a0 But this doesn’t work for plastic pipes or deeply buried pipes. \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have a water leak that’s bugging you because you can’t find it?\u00a0 You’re not alone. Water leak detection can be tricky.\u00a0 Based on data from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asapdrainandplumbing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}