Water Leak Detection Guide:

December

By W P /

Water Leak Detection Guide: Top Signs Of Hidden Water Leaks & Water Damage
By 911 Water Damage Experts

It’s without question that catching water leaks before they happen or at its early stages can save you time, trouble, and money.

While water leak detection services may not erase the problem as a whole, they locate it before it grows and becomes more widespread. They’re one of the best ways to confirm a leak and prevent your problem from growing.

Below are major causes of these types of water leaks.

Let’s get right into it.

What Are The Causes Of Hidden Leaks?

Hidden leaks can be caused by numerous types of situations.

We will go more in-depth over several different causes of hidden leaks, while some of these situations can be avoided, others may occur naturally over time.

The cause of your hidden leak can vary, but addressing the issue as quickly as possible is the best option. The faster you respond, the more you will save and prevent.

What Are The Top Signs of Hidden Leaks?

While the leak may be hidden and out of sight, there are some telltale signs that your property may be experiencing a hidden leak.

The following signs may be indicative of a hidden leak somewhere at your home or property:

1. High Cost Utility Bill

A high utility bill can be indicative of a hidden leak throughout your property.

While you may not see the leak itself, the gallons of water leaking is still accounted for on your bill. If your utility bill is higher than usual, it could be a sign of a hidden leak, in this case, the only way to discover the route of the problem is by having a professional to come out and better determine the issue.

2. Foul Odours

Stagnant water has a very specific, musty, old smell that can accumulate at your property if there is a hidden leak. These smells are indicative of a problem that may be hidden behind the walls of your home or property.

If you smell a musty, old smell at your property and can’t find an obvious source, the source could be a hidden leak.

3. Mould

Mould colonies can be the result of a hidden leak.

In order to form mould colonies, mould spores need moisture in order to grow. If you don’t see any obvious leak, it is likely the mould is growing due to a hidden leak, especially if the colony can be found near the wall itself.

4. Damaged Walls And Warping Ceilings

Water damage can cause extensive damage, wood can become warped and parts of your property can become destroyed due to prolonged exposure to water damage.

If you notice stains or warping on the wood at your property, you likely have a hidden water leak that may require a leak detection company.

5. Rust And Corrosion

Unfortunately, rust and corrosion are almost guaranteed at some point in a metal’s lifetime.

This instance is almost naturally occurring and there isn’t too much a homeowner can do to prevent corrosion from causing a leak behind their walls.

Rust and corrosion can be the result of aging, neglect, or the use of harsh chemicals that can cause deterioration over the years. Corrosion and rusting can cause severe problems for plumbing.

These pipes can eventually spring leaks behind your walls, or, worse, collapse and cause a major flood at your property.

6. Water Detection Leak Services

Maintaining pipes to prevent rust can be difficult as you never know when the problem will strike.

However, it is possible to protect your pipes by insulating the metal such as wear pads or pipe shoes. These materials will essentially place a buffer around the pipes to ensure they do not rust or corrode for longer.

If you believe your property has rust or corrosion on pipes hidden behind walls, water leak detection services can help diagnose this problem before it grows out of hand. A water damage company can check your pipes to ensure there are no signs of hidden damage or leaks.

7. Seal Damage

Damage to a pipe’s seal can cause leaks to spring.

Seal failure or damage can be caused by many different things, from improper installation, chemical incompatibility, pressure trapping, to damage over time.

Seal damage can also have natural damage caused simply by aging. Not all plumbing uses metal for pipes, these seals can be made of rubber or different, sturdy material that may, unfortunately, loosen or be damaged over time.

The most common cause of seal failure is improper installation.

While this may not cause issues at first, it can cause problems down the road. Regardless though, these seals will accumulate wear and tear as time goes on. This damage can cause an eventual leak.

Seal damage can be challenging to detect, as it requires you to specifically find the pipe sealing and investigate it.

These seals can be hidden behind walls and may be difficult to spot on your own. However, a water damage detection company providing water leak detection services may be able to assist if you suspect a leak.

8. Untreated Drain Clogs

Untreated clogs can back up pipes and cause severe damage over time.

This damage can result in a pipe bursting or leaking and causing water damage to your property. Clogs can also remain hidden for some time, getting pushed along the pipeline and causing only a partial blockage.

This blockage can continue to build up or cause deterioration to the pipes with the pressure build-up.

You can spot these clogs by noticing a change in water pressure. You may also notice the object is draining slowly, or bad odours coming from a drain or near it.

Clogs can be addressed by yourself or through the use of a plumber.

If a clog gets too backed up, water damage and detection services may be required after the clog is addressed.

9. Drastic Temperature Changes

Drastic temperature changes are another thing that can cause hidden leaks to spring up.

Unfortunately, the only real way to prevent this type of damage is to hope your property doesn’t get too cold. During winter, as the seasons change and the weather continues to drop, bursting pipes become more and more prevalent.

Insulation can be another means of protecting pipes from cold weather and dropping temperatures.

These safety precautions sometimes are unable to protect against harsher weather, though.

This is another unfortunate scenario where a leak detection company may have to come out to determine the problem.

Cold temperature is not something we can always control. When the weather drops outside, it has an effect on the inside of your property as well.

There are a few ways you can help alleviate the damage caused by this situation.

If you turn on your faucet and nothing comes out, this could be a sign of frozen pipes. In this instance, you should contact a plumber immediately. If you actually have a burst pipe at your property, you should shut your main shutoff valve.

While the go-to option may seem like trying to thaw the pipe or heat it up. You should never do so with an open flame or fire.

You can try to go this route with something like a hairdryer, though.

This does not have the potential to cause a fire at your property. For a pipe to freeze it needs to be below 20 degrees outside.

So, not the average problem for the typical Florida year. However, drastically rising temperatures can also lead to a pipe leaking or bursting.

10. High Water Pressure

High water pressure can cause damage to pipes as there is a typical rated amount of pressure recommended for pipes. Higher than usual pressure can cause the pipes to become damaged or shift around.

This happens as the pipes try to compensate for the increased pressure. Eventually, high pressure will cause a pipe to burst or cause leaks to breakthrough.

High water pressure can be assessed by a few different measures.

For instance, if your appliances are louder than usual, you hear rattling behind walls while water is on, or if your hot water supply is quickly depleted, you may have a high water pressure case.

Water leak detection services may be needed to address the issue. High water pressure can cause severe damage even after only a couple of hours.

If you have any questions about water damage restoration, feel free to call us at 1-833WE-DRY-IT anytime 24/7/365 all the time. We’re there when you need us!

Water Leak Detection Guide: Top Signs Of Hidden Water Leaks & Water Damage