Columbus Water Leak Repair

Plumbing system water leaks are a serious issue no matter how large or small the leak is. Even a small leak requires immediate repair.

Contact a plumber to locate any leak within your home and perform the work necessary to fix it. If you choose to ignore water leaks and put off repairs, the issue can snowball and create larger problems in your home, such as:

• Leaks can lead to significant water waste. Each drip that goes down the drain equals a loss of the energy required to filter the water and make it potable. Leaks hurt the environment and are not healthy for the planet.

• The waste from water leaks is not only bad for the environment, but bad for your budget as well. You still have to pay for the water that is wasted down your drains from a leaky faucet or toilet. If you don’t get that leak fixed quickly, you’ll be paying for it.

• Leaking plumbing can lead to mold growth inside your home. When water saturates with wood and drywall, mold can easily start to form. It can also spread to other areas of your house, causing further damage.

• When water leaks onto areas of the floor, gravity will pull it through the gaps between floorboards, tiles, and other materials. Moisture will be trapped under your flooring, which can damage this material, cause harm to your foundation, and cause mold to grow here, too.

• Leaks behind walls can cause your drywall to crumble. Most of the home’s plumbing piping is installed behind walls so we cannot see it. If a pipe bursts or even forms a small leak, water can soak into the drywall as well as the surrounding wood, degrading these materials to the point where they soften and eventually collapse.

Water leaks can occur in several areas throughout the house and you are not always able to notice when they start. While it’s easy to see a leak in a pipe that is accessible, leaks in walls or slab leaks within the foundation are completely hidden from sight. Leaks in these areas can be a problem for years before you ever find out about them, causing serious damage to the home during this period.

For this reason, it is important that Columbus homeowners can identify obvious signs a leak has occurred anywhere within their house. When these issues are identified, call Buckeye Heating, Cooling & Plumbing to request an appointment for leak repair services right away.

Water leaks may be minor, releasing only a drop of water every few seconds; or major, creating a flood of water that is quite obvious. Unfortunately, the majority of the most devastating leaks and the resulting damage are those that don’t produce signs right away. These are the water leaks that can go undetected for long periods of time while they continue to inflict harm to the home behind the scenes.

Find leaky plumbing equipment before serious damage occurs when you know what to look for. These signs share it’s time to start repairing your pipes and fixtures.

1. If your monthly water bill is higher than it normally is, this is a good sign that water is leaking somewhere in the house. Track your water bills from one year to the next, and keep copies so you can compare them historically. If you cannot identify a clear reason for an increase in water use, like hosting guests or adding a new plumbing appliance, there is a good chance that a leak is responsible for the increase.
2. Take a look at your home’s water meter. The water meter should stop if all sources of water are off inside the home. If you turn off every tap and plumbing appliance then go take a look at the water meter, continuous ticking is a sign that water is still flowing somewhere you don’t know about.
3. Does your home smell wet, like mustiness or mildew? These odors indicate mold is growing somewhere inside. If you cannot seem to get rid of these odors no matter how much you clean, it’s likely that mold or mildew has formed in hidden areas due to a water leak.
4. When leaks occur in a home’s slab foundation, foundation cracks can occur out of nowhere. Cracks from settling are fairly common, but they are small and develop over time. If you notice a crack in the foundation that has popped up rather quickly, this is commonly an indicator of a leak in water lines running through the foundation.
5. Water stains and puddles of water visible in the home are clear signs there is water leaking in a direct area.

Water leaks don’t always require professional repairs to correct. Many homeowners in the Columbus area are capable of fixing minor water leaks. How do you know when a leak can be fixed through DIY methods or when calling a plumber is more appropriate? It comes down to the severity of the leak, as this should impact your approach to fixing it. Assess the leak in your home based on the following scenarios to decide your course of action.