Water Leaks Can Cost You: How to Find Them

Water damage is the kind of damage that always comes with a cost – in fact, according to HomeDepot.com, “Water ‘escape’ damage is the 2nd leading cause of home insurance claims nationwide.” So how do you prevent the leak that causes the damage before it happens? There are definitely signs to be on the lookout for during regular inspection of your home, which we’ll shed light on here.

In the bathroom. If you consider that most of the things you spend time doing in the bathroom involve a water source, then it’s not surprising that leaks can arise for multiple reasons in this oft-used part of the home. Here are some of the common areas where leaks arise in the bathroom.

Shower doors. These can often be a source of leaks. To test whether or not your shower door is leaking, stand outside of the shower and turn the water on. Close the door and evaluate whether water is penetrating the door’s seal. This can absolutely cause damage to floors, walls, and rooms underneath the bathroom, so it’s well worth keeping an eye on.

Shower drains. Check your shower drain as well, as sometimes this can separate over time from the shower floor, particularly in cases where you have a fiberglass shower unit, causing vulnerability.
Shower spouts. Sometimes water gets between the faucet and the shower unit and can leak to the ceiling on the floor below the bathroom. This is actually a more common household leak, and can be prevented by making sure the faucet is sealed properly with calking.

Bathroom sinks. Another potential bathroom issue includes a leaky water pipe under the faucet, which is easy to detect by looking for stains underneath the piping. Sometimes having a bunch of bottles and toilet paper and extra items under the sink which can bump into the piping will be the simple cause of a leak. Additionally, the faucet itself can be the cause of a leak if the rubber washer is not properly in place.

Toilets. Assess the area at the base of your toilet for moisture or warping of the floor due to moisture. There is a great test you can do as shown on wikihow.com that involves putting food coloring in your toilet’s tank, waiting 30 minutes, and then evaluating the water in the toilet bowl. If it has changed color in any way, then this is another way to have found a leak.

In the kitchen. The kitchen, much like the bathroom, has a variety of potential leak sources.

Refrigerator. Always check at the base of the refrigerator for moisture. Sometimes leaks will pool there and can be quite easily detected.

Dishwasher. Dishwashers can leak from the bottom if not sealed properly. Look for moisture at the base of the dishwasher. Floor discoloration or warping are also clear signs of a leak, but in these cases you’ve found the leak a bit later than is obviously optimal! But often people overlook these signs in a kitchen after assuming that perhaps they spilled the water themselves somehow.

Sink. A sink can have multiple leak sources. Your garbage disposal is one, if not properly installed or if the pipes start to deteriorate due to usage. The pipes are also a potential source. Keep the area under your sink clear underneath the pipes and directly under the disposal so that leaks can easily be detected as water begins to pool and so that the water can’t be absorbed by something else and thus not noticed.

Your roof. There is little that is more frustrating when it comes to home repair than a leaky roof. How can you tell if something is going awry with your roof?

Very often, you can see with the naked eye where the roof might be separating from a vent or skylight, or where tiles are bent or damaged. Also, be sure to look from the inside of the house for water stains on the ceilings – these are things we often don’t notice as they are above us and we aren’t often looking up at the ceiling. Sometimes you can fix these leaks yourself with a rubberized patch, but more often than not, it is smart to call in the professionals, as where there is one leak there can be many.

In every room. Windows and doors whose seals are not tight can let in water during inclement weather. Watch for moisture accumulating around the edges of windows and doors during storms and call in the pros if you see evidence of such accumulation.

Stop water damage before it starts. By following these handy tips in identifying leaks before they become a bigger issue, you’ll avoid the massive potential costs associated with the bigger damage they can ultimately cause.

There are also tools you can purchase to help with the detection of water leaks. Honeywell has a very helpful product called the Water Leak Detection Alarm whose cable can be placed under your sink or dishwasher, behind your refrigerator, or anywhere you are worried about a potential leak occurring. It detects even slight amounts of moisture and the cable is 240 feet long, so it can wrap around multiple potential water leak sources in the same room if necessary.

Simply remaining diligent in the inspection of your home on an ongoing basis will aid in locating water leaks before they cause bigger and more costly damage.
Have a tip or tool for finding water leaks? We want to hear about it!


Cara Aley is a staff writer with Leak Masters, an underground leak detection service based in Seattle.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *