How to tell if you have a water leak!

Without water trickling from under a door or from the ceiling above, detecting a leak can be challenging, even for a pro. What can you do if your water bill is unusually high without a logical explanation, such as additional people staying at your home? Be sure to check for a leak using some basic skills and know how! Here are some suggestions to help you verify if you might have a leak:

1. Main line water leak: Turn off the water inside your home at faucets and valves. Ensure there is no one using the bathroom or running water somewhere around the house. Then, check your water meter at the street. If your meter is spinning, this may indicate a water leak from your main water line, somewhere under your front yard or possibly under your slab. Be sure to call your property manager or a leak detection company right away to verify.

2. If you notice your carpet is wet along a wall and perhaps the baseboards in the area feel a little moist, without anyone spilling anything in that location, you may want to investigate further. A pipe behind a wall may have developed a small leak.

3. Discolored vinyl: Is the vinyl around your toilet developing a purple or other dark stain? This may be indicative of your toilet’s wax seal leaking and sending water under your vinyl floor. It may be a good idea to remove the toilet and install a new wax seal.

4. Stain in the ceiling: This one is usually fairly obvious: a dark or yellow stain developing in the ceiling may indicate either a roof leak, pipe leak or the condensate pan/pipe leaking from your AC unit. While this type of leak may not increase your water bill, it can get expensive if ignored! Be sure to investigate to determine what the source is and fix right away.

A water leak can cause mold within 72 hours, so the faster you find a leak and fix it, the simpler and less expensive it will be.

Contributed by Nicklin Property Management – 702-903-HOME.