Reliance Plumbing Sewer & Drainage, Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Leak Detection’

What You Need to Know About Finding Hidden Plumbing Leaks

Monday, July 18th, 2022

magnifying-glassHere’s the tricky part about hidden leaks: they’re hidden. A leak gushing from under your kitchen sink because the supply line broke is easy to detect. Leaks occurring in pipes behind walls and under the floor are much more difficult to detect until they start causing major damage. You don’t want leaks to get to that point, so it’s helpful to know how you can spot the signs of hidden leaks so you can have professional plumbers act on them.

Our plumbers use the best leak detection equipment available to find hidden leaks in a house so we can repair them. You don’t have the same equipment, but you can pick up on several indicators of pipe leaks so you can call us for plumbing repair in Winnetka, IL. Below are the most common ways to detect hidden leaks.

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Water Stain on the Ceiling? That’s a Serious Plumbing Problem!

Monday, April 25th, 2022

stain-on-ceilingWe often talk about the problem of hidden leaks in residential plumbing. It’s easy for these leaks to go unnoticed for weeks or months while they raise water bills and inflict damage on building materials. But today we’re going to look at when a hidden leak becomes an obvious leak. Unfortunately, it’s an obvious leak that people often still overlook or delay at getting fixed. We’re looking at the water stain on the ceiling!

You’ve probably come across this phenomenon at some point; if not in your own home than in another building. A brownish-red discoloration spreading through the drywall or other material of the ceiling. Unsightly, but maybe you only need a bit of paint to touch it up…

No, don’t do this! That stain is the sign of a leak, and it means you need fast service to have it fixed. You can worry about painting over the stain later. 

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Pinhole Leaks: A Sneaky Plumbing Problem

Monday, January 3rd, 2022

bursted copper pipe with water leaking out, 3d illustrationLocating hidden leaks in homes is an important part of our job as professional plumbers. Because so much of the piping in a house is hidden in walls and ceilings, leaks often escape detection for long stretches—sometimes until they start to cause damage to parts of the house. 

And no type of hidden leak is harder to notice at first than pinhole leaks. The name can give you an idea why these are tricky to find: they’re extremely small. But small leaks are still major problems, especially if they escape notice for long enough. 

There’s more to pinhole leaks, and we’ll go over the details below. If you suspect any type of plumbing leak in your house, call us for pipe repair in Winnetka, IL.

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Can You Detect a Leak on Your Own?

Monday, December 11th, 2017

faucet with slow dripLet’s say you’ve found yourself with unexplainable high water bills. Naturally, your water bills will change each month, depending on how much you use certain plumbing fixtures (for instance, you won’t be using your irrigation system in the dead of winter!) But when your utility bills spike for no reason, it’s time to take a close look at what’s going on with your plumbing.

But can you detect a leak on your own? Well, yes and no, which we’ll get to in a moment. First, it’s important that you understand why even the smallest leak is actually a pretty big deal. The US EPA states that a faucet leaking at just one drop per second wastes 3,000 gallons of water per year. And considering that a “small” leak can happen anywhere along your water lines—including underneath your slab or behind walls—this can be detrimental to your home and your water bills.

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