Start with the meter
- Turn off every tap, the dishwasher, washer and any irrigation.
- Find the water meter, usually in the basement near where the line enters.
- Note the reading and watch the small leak indicator or low-flow dial.
- Leave all water off for half an hour, then compare.
If the number moved, water is going somewhere. Now close the main shut-off valve. A dial that still creeps afterward suggests trouble ahead of the valve, on the pipe from the street.
Check the usual suspects
- Toilets: put food colouring in each tank, wait twenty minutes, look for colour in the bowl.
- Water heater: look for drips at the relief valve pipe and the base.
- Outside taps: check the basement wall behind each one.
- Under sinks: feel the supply lines and drain joints with a dry tissue.
- Washer hoses: look for damp or bulging rubber.
Reading walls and ceilings
Stains that appear only after a shower point to a drain, grout or shower valve. Stains that grow regardless of use suggest a pressurised supply line. Peeling paint, bubbling drywall and a musty smell show where water is collecting, though not always where it starts; water travels along joists before it drips.
Do not wait. A small supply leak inside a wall runs every minute of every day. Shut the main if the stain is spreading.
When to call us
If the meter test shows a leak and you cannot find it, our leak detection service uses acoustic listening, thermal imaging and pressure testing to locate it before anything is opened.
Tools worth keeping in the basement
- Two plungers: a flanged one for bowls, a flat cup for basins
- A hand snake around twenty-five feet long
- Adjustable and basin wrenches
- A bucket, rags and a flashlight
- A tag on the main shut-off valve
Ready when you are. One call, a real plumber, an arrival window.
Call now(365) 517-6415