Uh oh, the dreaded adult problems, when something in your house goes wrong. We’ve all been there; unfortunately, we stumble on issues like this throughout life, but a water leak can be incredibly damaging and expensive. So, if you have a water leak at home, what should you do?
The first and utmost thing you should be doing is making sure that the water is turned off as this will prevent any further damage from occurring. You then need to contact a professional plumber and arrange for them to come as soon as they can. Don’t pretend to be a DIY expert if you have no clue what you’re doing; it’ll never end well!
Turning your water off first is incredibly important because this will prevent any further damage from happening, explains Detect A Leak, a professional water leak detector in Mississippi. Water damage can be quite costly, so it is essential to do. If you are unaware of how to switch the water off, it might be worth contacting a plumber and asking for advice. If you own or rent your home, this should have been something shown to you so that you’re aware in case of any issues.
You should also try to identify the source of the leak if possible, this will help you to know what you might need to do, such as certain things to turn off and it will also help when the plumber is asking you information.
Yourrepair.co.uk have advised that the stopcock is wherein most homes you would turn your water off, you turn it clockwise, and this will shut off the water.
The stopcock in most homes are located under the kitchen sink, and if you can’t find yours there, it is likely elsewhere in your house. It might be wise for everyone living under the same roof to know where this is just in case there is an emergency. You don’t want there to be an emergency, and the only person who knows where it is isn’t home. Better to be safe than sorry!
Sometimes a water leak can be coming from your heating, so it’s worth turning that off too just in case.
If your water leak is near any electric points, it would be a smart and safe idea to turn those electricity points off as this can cause a lot of damage.
If you aren’t sure where the water leak is coming from, it might be smart to turn both your heating and electricity off. There is nothing worse than being inside an unsafe home.
According to sse.co.uk, the most common reasons why there are water leaks are:
Water pressure is increased when certain things like a blocked pipe occur. When a pipe is blocked, and the pressure increases, it causes the pipes to expand and either burst or crack likely causing a water leak.
Unfortunately, cold weather isn’t something that can be controlled. When a water pipe freezes, this can again cause the pipe to expand and either crack or burst.
As we’ve explained, water leaks can sometimes be caused by the weather which is out of our control, but it would be wise to maintain your roof to prevent rainwater from leaking into the roof.
Any pipes which might be prone to be frozen, e.g. outdoor, attics, and basements you should consider insulating to ensure they don’t freeze and burst.
If you see anything different with your water bill, such as it is higher than usual then that might be an indicator you have a water pipe leakage.
If your floor or ceiling look like they’re warped, then you might find that water damage has caused this problem. It’s worth getting a professional to assess and fix the problem.
If you have a drip that isn’t stopping even though all your taps are off, then this is a significant indicator of a water leak.
We’ve told you the most important things to do when you have a water leak, like turning off the water, contacting a professional plumber, turning off any other essential things like heating and electricity.
Some other things that you can do are removing any of the excess water; you don’t want the water to sit in your house, this will only make it worse. Once the water is gone try to dry where the water patch was – grohe.co.uk says that if you don’t do this, things like mold can start to develop quite quickly. Lastly and most importantly use the tips above to prevent any future leaks from occurring.
