Detecting Leaks in Your Home

Do plumbing leaks in your Temecula home have you worried? Wells Plumbing, Heating, and Air offers easy ways you can detect problems.

You may have a leak if:

1. You can hear the continuous sound of water (for instance, a toilet running) when nothing is turned on.
2. Your water meter reading changes when you are using water. To check this, mark the indicator on your meter; don’t use any water for an hour and then check the meter.  If the indicator moved, you may have a leak.
3. Your water bill escalates over a period of weeks or months.  Do a month to month comparison of your bills.
4. Your walls or floors have wet, spongy, damp or discolored areas where nothing has spilled.
5. You can smell foul odors coming from floors or walls near drains or sewers.
6. Your foundation cracks, vegetation grows unevenly, or earth shifts for no apparent reason.
7. You find warm spots on your floor, particularly on concrete slabs.

Some facts about leaks:

1. A 1/8 inch hole in a metal pipe, at 40 pounds per square inch (psi), leaks 2,500 gallons of water in 24 hours.
2. A leak the size of a pinhead can waste 360,000 gallons per year, enough to fill 12,000 bathtubs to the overflow mark.
3. A leaking toilet can use 90,000 gallons of water in 30 days.
4. A dripping faucet/hose bib can lose up to 180 gallons per month or 2160 gallons per year.
5. Approximately 1 in every 20 swimming pools has a leak.
6. Approximately 1 in every 318 homes has a leak.
7. A typical toilet leak at today’s rate can add $500 to a single water bill.
8. Using a pool cover prevents about 1000 gallons per month from evaporating.

Do you suspect a leak in your home? Wells Plumbing, Heating, and Air can help.