What is water leak detection?
The problem with water leaks in both domestic and commercial situations is that they often start out as very minor, and it’s only when you’re knee deep in water that you realise you’ve got a serious problem. Or, sometimes more concerning, the water is leaking far underground, and you just don’t know it’s happening or where it’s coming from.
Leave a water leak unattended for long enough and it can easily turn into something which is much more serious… and costly. There can be significant cost implications for your home or business – not just in increased water bills due to wasted water, but also the damage leaks can cause to floors, foundations, flat roofs, building fabrics, finishes… not to mention the costs of identifying the leak and fixing it.
What are the main causes of leaks in buildings?
There are many different reasons for water leaks in buildings, but all usually start with damage to joints, pipes, tanks and other components in the water and drainage systems. Pipes may have corroded or cracked over time and become porous and leaky, or a sudden bout of bad weather might cause storm damage or freezing and cracking.
Constant vibration from traffic or local building works can work joints loose, allowing water to seep out. Failure of pipes, joints and other components or poor workmanship during the original installation of the water system can result in immediate leaking, as can accidental damage by workmen at a later stage. The settlement of a building, or movement of the structure itself can also result in fractures to pipes and fittings.
You should also consider sources beyond your own buildings and boundaries. Leaks may originate from adjoining properties or land for example, where damage has occurred to water pipes, drainage systems and sewers that are the responsibility of others.
Potential water damage
One of the reasons water leaks have the potential to cause so much costly damage is because in most buildings, water pipes are usually hidden away out of view below ground, under floorboards, in walls, or above ceilings. A leak, a slowly seeping or dripping pipe might not be immediately obvious, but can cause damage to the building fabric, dampness, mould growth, and in the most serious cases structural damage.
Often, water leaks can go undetected until they have caused extensive damage to a property. Once the location of the leak has been identified gaining access to the pipes or defective components to repair them can involve the further expense of excavations, ripping up floors or pulling plaster off the walls.
However, a water leak which is identified quickly, before it has had the chance to cause lots of damage to your property, is more likely to result in a manageable bill for repairs. If however you don’t realise you’ve got a leak until it’s been dripping or leaking for months or years, the damage could be extensive and your repair bills significantly higher.
Dealing with leaks which have gone undetected for a long time could require using fungicides and other treatments to remove mould and fungi which has been growing in floor voids or inside walls, replacing timber joists and beams which have become affected by either wet or dry rot, drying out saturated stonework or brickwork, or replacing if it can’t be dried out, and then the additional costs for re-plastering, redecorating and replacing any carpets and soft furnishings which have been ruined.
Increased utility bills
Another impact of water leaks is an increased water bill. Businesses, commercial operations and some households are charged for every litre of water which flows through the meter and into their home or business. Given that a dripping tap could use 20 litres of water a day, it’s easy to see how water bills can easily start to rise. Often, a sudden increase in your quarterly water bill is the first clue that you might have a leak somewhere, but how many of us take time to scrutinise all the different charges and elements on the bill to spot what the problem might be?
How to tell if you have a water leak
There are however some tell-tale signs which could indicate that you’ve got a water leak somewhere on your property which needs to be tackled. A good starting point is to use your nose; bad smells near your drains are often an indication that water is pooling, unable to flow away because of a leak somewhere.
Dampness, wet spots or cracks in your internal paintwork or wall paper, or paint or paper starting to peel away can also be a sign of a leak.
Persistent loss of boiler pressure on a closed heating system could also indicate leaks to your heating pipework.
External subsidence or cracks to the building fabric (walls and floors) can also indicate that underground pipes are leaking causing erosion of the soil or substrate.
If you can hear water dripping or running, where is it coming from? Start by turning off your stopcock to prevent all water coming into the property. If you can still see your water meter ticking over, that can indicate that the leak is at some point between the meter and the stop cock. If there is no movement on the meter and you still suspect a leak, start investigating pipework leading away from the stopcock into your property.
If you are on a metered supply you may also see a sudden increase in your typical water bills, indicating greater water consumption with no apparent reason.
How to detect leaks
If your home or business has sprung a major leak, you won’t need to get the experts out as it will be blindingly obvious. In other cases, with pipes seeping slowly underground, under your floor or inside walls, you will need to get an expert out with specialist equipment and water testing facilities. Water leak detection specialists Water Treatment Services are expert in detecting leaks with the skills and experience to identify the problems with the minimum of disruption and damage to your property. They are also best placed to recommend the most cost-effective and least disruptive way of dealing with the leak and ensuring it doesn’t happen again.
Where is the water coming from?
One important question to ask when investigating the source of a leak is where is it coming from? Sometimes identifying the source of the water can be far from straightforward. Water could be leaking in to your basement, pooling in your garden or seeping through walls to cause damage and disruption to your property. It’s therefore essential that the source of the leak is identified as quickly and accurately as possible.
Using specialist laboratory water quality analysis techniques we can test for a range of microbial and chemical parameters which can help to dentify the potential source of the water leak. We can then make recommendations for further action.
Specialist water leak detection techniques
Our experts use a number of different tools, specialist non-destructive techniques and laboratory based water quality analysis procedures to accurately detect the source, presence and location of water leaks.
