05/02/2014
Usually it is time to check your plumbing system for hidden water leaks, if one day you receive a water bill that is higher than normal. In order to detect a water leak, you should follow some of the simple steps.
1. Turn the running water off inside and outside your home.
2. Check for any movement in a flow indicator of your water meter. The flow indicator is a small triangle at the top of the meter. If it is moving, a water leak is hidden somewhere on your property. Instructions described in step 3 will help you determine the location of a water leak.
3. By a method of exclusion, discover where you might have a leak.
- Check your sprinkler system. There is a backflow prevention device for your irrigation system in your front yard. Shut off the valves of the system and check your water meter. If the flow indicator movement has stopped, your irrigation system causes the leak. If the flow indicator is still moving, there is a leak inside your home.
- Check your main service line. The main service line supplies all the water inside your home. Turn off your water shutoff valve, go inside your house and turn on any tap to confirm that the water is off. Check your water meter. The flow indicator movement indicates the water leak being between the shutoff valve and the water meter.
- Check your toilets. Turn off the toilet valve found right behind the toilet and after this check the flow indicator on the water meter. If the flow indicator does not move, that toilet is a reason for a leak. If you have more than one toilet in your house, check each one of them one-by-one.
- Check your swimming pool. Your pool’s automatic fill function should be turned off before you check your pool. Take a bucket and place it on a step in the pool, so that its rim is higher than the adjoining water level. To weigh the bucket down, put a rock inside of it and pour water to the same level as the adjoining water. Do not disturb the bucket and pool for a couple of days; then compare the water level in the pool to the water level in the bucket. If the water level in the bucket is obviously higher than the water level in the pool, your pool water might be lost due to the leak.
If you have no luck after performing all of the described procedures, you need to call in a professional plumber to discover a leak and take appropriate care of it afterwards.
