You may just consider a leak to be nothing more than an irritating sound of “drip, drip, drip” in your home, but be careful about such a casual dismissal.
A leak can cause you some big problems, but we’ve got tips on how to find them and why you should do this.
Tracking It Down
The first thing you should do is make a visual inspection.
Some lucky homeowners will immediately find a leak on a faucet, and that may mean you only have to tighten your fixture with a wrench.
Other places to look for a leak may be your toilet, your water heater, or even your sewage pipes or your water pipes if you can hear a leak dripping but can’t see it.
In more serious cases, you’ll find you have a leak when you see water damage forming on a ceiling or wall.
That means that the problem lies with your pipes.
Problems that lie within your pipes may require more serious, professional attention.
You can even gauge how serious a leak may be by using your water meter to measure water usage once you’ve shut the water off.
Solve the Problems Ahead Of Time
The best way to prevent an expensive repair involving leaks is to avoid letting things get that bad. One way to do this is make sure you regularly inspect your taps and pipes.
Leave your cabinet relatively uncluttered so you can get a good view of drain pipes when you open things up to take a look.
You can also be “kinder” to your pipes and not put undo strain on them to ensure they continue to work for you.
Higher water pressure in a home can affect the lifespan of water pipes.
Another thing to keep an eye on is the condition of your pipes.
Especially if you live in an area where the water supply is “hard water” (water with a higher mineral content), this is very important.
Those minerals can accelerate how fast a pipe degrades, whereas “soft water” is much gentler on pipes.
Why Leaks Matter
Beyond just the irritation that the dripping sound of a leak makes, there are other reasons you want to address this problem quickly.
A leak is often a symptom and your first warning that a bigger problem may be on the horizon.
Ignoring it means you’re allowing a problem to grow more serious and potentially expensive to repair. There’s also the cost you pay for tolerating a leak.
It may seem like only a drip, but a little adds up over a long enough period of time. A leak may mean that you are wasting anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 gallons of water every year.
The worst part is that you’re still paying for that on your utility bill every month. And if the leak eventually leads to a broken pipe, then things get very expensive very fast.
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