Water may well be your home’s worst enemy. Few things can cause as much damage or cost as much to repair as a flooded room or basement. And pipe leaks, especially hidden ones, can cause a lot of trouble before you even notice them. Even a small leak can waste thousands of gallons of water annually.
Addressing pipe leaks is both preventive maintenance and crucial for home improvement. Detecting and repairing leaks prevents water damage, mold growth and potential structural issues, ensuring the integrity and safety of your home.
Keep an eye out around your house for visible water stains, mold growth, sounds of running water when no fixtures are in use, and damp or musty smells. If your water bill increases suddenly, it might also indicate a hidden leak.
Here’s a useful hack to figure out if you have a leak: Check your water meter and write down the numbers. For the next hour, shut off all faucets, appliances, sprinklers and fixtures. Check the meter again, and if the number has changed, you know there’s a leak somewhere.
Don’t overlook the yard, especially if you have an irrigation or sprinkler system. Outdoor water leaks are easy to miss, since they rarely cause damage like an indoor leak, but they can waste a lot of water and cause trouble for your yard in the long term. If you notice any patches of grass that seem to be growing faster than everything else, that might indicate a leaking buried water line. If you notice any dips or holes in the yard, that might be caused by a sewer main leak.
Whatever the type of leak you find, turn off the fixture valve (if possible) and call a licensed plumber to repair it. If you have a major leak, the kind that sees water rushing through your home, turn off the entire water line to your home using the main shut-off valve. If you don’t know where your valve is, ask your plumbing pro to show you.
A professional hired to address pipe leaks will inspect the plumbing system, locate the source of the leak, and then proceed with the necessary repair work, which may involve replacing or repairing the affected pipes. You can DIY a short-term solution for a leak with epoxy putty, pipe clamps or good old-fashioned duct-tape, but that should be a stopgap measure only. Fixing a leak may seem like a simple task, but plumbing work can get out of control very quickly and very easily, so this is a job to leave to a licensed professional.
On average, you’ll spend about $500 to repair a leaking pipe, but this cost can vary widely. The biggest factors impacting cost include the extent of the damage, the location of the leak and how hard it will be for the plumber to access.
