When there is a leak in your home, it can be stressful seeing water spring out of places that it shouldn’t. We want to help you feel control of the situation, and also help lessen the blow of the plumbing bill by following these few steps to isolate the water leak before we can come check it out.
1. Turn off the water at the mains
If you can see the water leak and identify where it is coming from… the number one rule when there is water leaking in your home - turn off the water mains!
You can access the water mains from the metre at the end of your drive. Watercare provide a great resource on your metre, where to locate your water meter and read it.
Turn this off first, as this will shut off the water to your house which in effect will stop the water from running through and causing your home to be drenched. From here, call the plumber and take photos of the issue.
2. Find the location of the water leak
Often, a water leak can be a dramatic amount of water flowing from the roof, slowly rising on the floor or coming through the pipes under the sink. But what if there is a silent leak that may be a bit harder to indicate. This often can be shown through a higher water bill or a small leaking sound coming from the house without the location known.
1. Turn off all fixtures in the house
Go to every fixture in the house and turn them off. There are different places to check like bathroom, laundry, outside hose taps and the like.
2. Check your water mains meter
When you turn off all fixtures in the house, this should mean that all water flow in the house is no longer flowing. This means when you go to your water meter, there should be no numbers clocking up on the meter. If the numbers are clicking through then you have a leak somewhere and it needs to be found.
3. Check the toilet
One possible place that could be running is the toilet flush valve. If you open the cistern at the top, check to see if there is any water running there. If there is, great news – you have most likely found the leak. Often outside on older models or inside the toilet cistern in newer models, you can turn off the water.
4. Check surrounding areas
If you are unable to locate any leaks from the steps prior, you could have a leak in the hidden pipes leading into the house.
There could be a leak under the house, if you have the means to look under you can have a quick look to see.
You can also have a look at the surrounding areas of the house. If there is a greener patch of grass, or a puddled swampy area – the leak can be found close to this.
Once you have identified the leak, you can easily discuss the issue with the plumber once they arrive to the location. This extra work means that the plumber may be able to use other methods to isolate the leak, and also it can help us get the required materials for the job before we turn up. This can save time, which means money.
Summit Plumbing are here to help with your plumbing leak, and will fix the issue so that the pesky leak is no longer a problem any more. Give us a call on 027 306 03 79 to help you with your plumbing services today.
