Some homeowners might preoccupy themselves with organizing their homes or servicing their boilers each spring. And while these are important, plumbing care is a major part of spring home maintenance that too many overlook.
Fortunately, it’s nowhere near as complicated as you think. If you don’t have anything specific wrong with your plumbing, you can usually get by with a professional leak detection appointment from your local plumbing company.
These visits are enough to give you peace of mind that winter’s deep freezes didn’t secretly destroy your plumbing and that you won’t make things accidentally worse by using it.
What Happens if You Ignore a Water Leak?
Truthfully, you can ignore a small water leak. But since it eventually gets bigger and much worse, there’s no way to bury your head in the sand; you’ll have to face your leaky pipes sooner or later.
Small drips add up to hundreds of gallons over time. Worse, the excess moisture will inevitably cause mold and mildew to grow, making an already bad situation that much worse. Mold from water leaks often grows in places you can’t see, too, like behind walls or under carpeting.
Slab leaks are also an issue that’s more specific to this transition between seasons. These happen when the pipes running underneath your home’s concrete crack or break. It’s more likely to be an issue with older pipes, as the shifting ground from the freeze-thaw cycle can cause them to snap much more easily.
These leaks are buried deep, so they often go unnoticed until they’ve caused a lot of damage; routine leak detection is one of the only ways to spot this issue early, before it costs you thousands of dollars to deal with it.
How Do You Find a Hidden Water Leak?
Leak detection is, unfortunately, not always as simple as looking under your sink and seeing it drip. The most destructive leaks are often hidden in places you can’t see. That’s why professional leak detection is so valuable, especially this time of year.
Plumbers have unique equipment that can find these leaks. Thermal imaging cameras can spot differences in temperature behind walls, which usually indicates the presence of moisture. Some will even use acoustic listening devices. These allow the technician to literally hear the sound of the water moving.
Homeowners are limited in how they can detect leaks, but one of the first signs is sudden, unexplained spikes in your water bill. If you don’t know where the water’s going, there’s a good chance it’s a hidden leak.
Do a walkthrough of your home to see if you notice any discoloration or damp patches on drywall. Musty odor is also a potential clue, since this means there’s mold growth somewhere, and mold needs water to thrive.
Protect Your Plumbing with Proactive Care
Don’t ignore that sneaking suspicion you might have a leak; it could save you from a springtime plumbing disaster. Contact Daigle Plumbing, Heating & Cooling today for professional leak detection. We’ll get a fresh set of eyes on the problem and fix any plumbing problems we find.
