It’s no secret that water damage to your home is often expensive — and messy — to repair. Your best bet for reducing your risk of water damage is to spot potential leaks in your pipes, faucets, and appliances before they become a major problem.
Are you wondering where to start? We’ve put together a list of the four most important places to check for leaks in your house.
1. In Your Bathrooms
You use a lot of water in your bathroom. All of that water has to go through the pipes around your bathrooms, including the pipe system in and out of bathroom amenities. Regularly checking your bathroom for leaks gives you the best chance to stop water damage before it starts.
Go through your bathroom and carefully look around each area, including:
- Toilet: Start by checking the seal around the base of your toilet. You should be able to run your hand along the floor around the toilet and feel for wetness. Be sure to also look for water spots or discoloration in your flooring. You’ll also want to check the pipes that lead from the wall into the toilet. Along with feeling the floor behind the toilet, check the wall for signs of water damage or dampness.
- Shower or Bathtub: Showers and bathtubs sometimes leak when the caulking along the floor and base of the tub wear out. You can check for potential leaks by looking for gaps or damage to the caulk. If you have a shower with a door, you may also get leaks from bad gaskets or seals. To test for leaks, splash water against the interior side of the door. Wait a few minutes to see if the water leaks through the cracks in the door.
- Bathroom Sink: The final place to look for leaks in your bathroom is the bathroom sink. Like any faucet, your bathroom sink has pipes that move water from your plumbing system to the faucet. Open the cabinet under the sink and look for small puddles of standing water or signs of moisture. Make sure you also check the faucet itself for any signs of leaking, such as dripping when the faucet is off.
2. Around Your Water Heater
The hot water tank on your water heater is a common place for leaks to occur — and a place you usually wouldn’t look. That means a leak from a water heater could cause a lot of expensive damage before you notice, even with homeowners insurance. A quick way to check for water heater leaks is to simply listen. Turn off other sources of noise and stand next to the water tank. If you can hear dripping or running water, you may have a leaky or damaged water heater. Follow the noise of running water to try and confirm where the leak is occurring.
It’s not always easy to learn how to find where a leak is coming from by listening, but you can still look for signs. Start at the top of the water heater and inspect the pipes that attach from the wall to the top of the tank. High water pressure can cause these tubes to break down or loosen and create leaks.
The bottom of your water heater is also prone to leakage. More specifically, the drain valve on your tank could wear out and start leaking. Check for water leaks coming from the valve or signs of pooling water around the bottom of the tank.
3. In the Laundry Room
Outside of your shower, your washing machine usually uses the most water of your appliances. Plan to look behind your washer regularly. This is the most likely place for a leak to happen.
If possible, move your washing machine away from the wall and look for pooling water underneath the appliance. You can also run your hands along the walls to feel for moisture. Before moving the washer back in place, take a closer look at the area where the wall meets the floor and inspect for damage. For example, if your floor seems to be peeling back from the wall or there is a “bubbling” effect in the floor materials, you may have water damage.
4. In the Kitchen
Another room in your home that often uses a lot of water is the kitchen. Depending on the appliances you have, you may have water connected to the kitchen sink, dishwasher, and fridge.
- Ktichen Sink: Check your kitchen sink the same way you check your bathroom faucets. Start by looking below the sink for pooling water and signs of moisture. Then inspect the tap and handles for dripping water.
- Dishwasher: You’ll likely want to slide the dishwasher away from the wall so you can get a better idea of any potential problems.. Be sure to check for leaks underneath the appliance as well as in the areas where the pipes connect to the machine.
- Fridge: If your refrigerator has an ice or water machine, it’s connected to your home’s plumbing. Whenever you pull your fridge out to clean behind it, check for signs of mold or moisture in the wall and floor.
What to Do if You Find a Water Leak
After finding a water leak in your house, you should first turn off the water supply. Smaller leaks, such as a shower door leak, probably won’t require that the main water valve be shut off, but larger leaks usually do. After stopping the water flow, contact your plumber to ask for their advice.
You may also need to make a homeowners insurance claim. Wawanesa makes it easy to file a claim whenever problems happen with our 24/7 claim service.
