Hidden plumbing leaks are the worst of all, they increase your energy bills and damage your home without being aware.. Some plumbing leaks are easily visible and can be remedied quickly once it is noticed, while others wreak havoc in silence. So we are here to help you identify such hidden plumbing leaks.

Common Causes of hidden plumbing leaks and How to identify them

With the below steps, you can get a good understanding of the causes of hidden plumbing leaks and you will be able to easily identify them

WaterMeter

A Water Meter helps you keep track of the amount of water used for household and miscellaneous purposes. Even if there is a leak within the pipeline beneath the floor or within the wall, you can easily identify them using a water meter. It shows the amount of water consumed, using that you can get an idea where the extra water is being used or if there is even a water leak in the pipeline.

Water has become pricier than ever, due to rising scarcity around the world. So in future, even a law could be imposed to fix the water leakage or pay extra taxes for the amount of water used. 

“As of now, If you’re in the United Kingdom, water taxes are around £400 a year”

Increased Energy Bills

When we mention increased energy bills, it means these hidden plumbing leaks will increase the cost of both electricity and water bills simultaneously. Increased Energy Bills can be caused due to many hidden plumbing leaks like,

• Damaged Air Duct
• Drop-in boiler pressure
• Uncleaned Air Filter
• Sludge in Radiator
• Damaged Thermostat

These hidden plumbing leaks can’t be noticed easily or taken into notice sooner, it’s due to how they operate without exposing the problem. Well here are a few facts to note, 

How to find which of these problems is the cause of increasing energy bills?

• Frequent maintenance helps you keep the energy bills stable, due to certain complications or busy days people usually forget about maintenance until the bills reach the doorstep. Do schedule a maintenance check in the specific month or date with ESBAH Emergency Plumbing Service, so even if you forget about it, we will be at your doorstep at the fixed time and day for the routine maintenance.
• Whenever there is damage in the Air Duct, you can easily sense the heat difference in room temperature throughout the house. If you feel the temperature difference in a specific room, there can be an Air Duct leak in that room. This Air Duct leak forces the central heating system to increase the airflow, which consumes more power and naturally raises your energy bill. If the air duct isn’t fixed soon, the energy bill is going to rise more and more whenever you use the central heating system.
• Uncleaned Air Filters are the worst of all, if you have kids and people who have breathing problems in your home, you should make sure to clean the Air Filters frequently. These uncleaned Air Filters aren’t good for the health of normal people, while it’s the worst enemy to the people with breathing problems. The air circulation in your home gets affected due to the dust in Air filters, so suffocation is possible in extreme conditions. You might ask, “How is this connected with Rising energy bills ?” Well, air circulation, air intake, and air outlet are vital to keeping your central heating system running in good condition.
• Sludge buildup in pipelines, radiators, and central heating systems is common around the United Kingdom. It’s due to the excessive usage of hard water which contains limescale. At the basics, you can easily identify Sludge buildup using the water colour in the pipeline and radiator bleed. When it comes to the radiator, sludge damages the working potential of the radiator, leading to increased consumption of power and water to provide the required heat.

Damaged Floors, Walls or Ceiling

Most of the houses have pipelines, within the wall or beneath the floor, sometimes even in the ceiling if it’s a two-floor building. Whenever there is a damaged water pipeline in the house that’s within the wall or floor, you can easily identify it through

• Wallpaper ripping Off
• Wall getting wet
• Frequent Circuit Problems 

Mold or Mildew

Mold or Mildew appear due to moisture in the surface, to be precise they appear wherever there is a hidden leak within your home. It’s one of the easiest ways to spot the hidden plumbing leak in the house. 

Bad odour within and around the house

If there is a leak in drainage or blockage in the drainage pipe, the odour starts to spread inside the house through bathroom pipelines and even if the leakage is near your house which may have a sewer line intersection. It would still affect your home, bad odour gets to spread around the house and as well as within the house

Extra green patch

As we said in pipeline leakage within walls or beneath the floor, some people do have questions about “How to find if there is a water leak in the lawn?”. Whenever there is an underground water leak in the lawn area, the grass around a certain area grows better than others around and the surface is always wet. You can be easily identified through green patches.

Bathroom leaks

There are so many water-using fixtures in the bathroom, it is a perfect site for hidden plumbing leaks. Keep an eye out for loose tiles, since plumbing leaks can loosen them from the wall. It is also critical to inspect the paint and wallpaper on the walls shared by the bathroom and neighbouring rooms for indications of peeling or bubbling. 

Common Hidden Plumbing Leaks in Bathroom

• Shower 

When it comes to the shower, it’s common to see the remaining water flowing through the shower even after turning off the valve. If the valve is faulty, the water flowing through the shower won’t stop even after closing the valve. 

How to identify the hidden plumbing leak in the shower at the starting stage?

Hard water can damage the valve completely, you can easily identify it through the shower flow. In some showers, the damaged valve blocks the flow and reduces the speed of the water, while in some showers the damaged valve makes the water flow with high pressure through the shower which can’t be adjusted until serviced.

• Tap

Dripping taps ranks top among common hidden plumbing leaks, there isn’t much difference between the tap leak in the kitchen and the tap in the bathroom. Both show similar symptoms if there is a hidden plumbing leak. In the Bathroom it will be hard to identify the leak, the water leaks through the tap or tap connection with the pipeline. You can identify them using a wet surface or using some colour to check for the plumbing leak.

• Toilet bowl leak

Toilet bowl leak is common among hidden plumbing leaks, not easily visible to the naked eye. So use a colour powder over the toilet bowl and see if it’s leaking. Toilet bowl leak happens due to a problem in the flush, as long as the flush isn’t fixed, the water gets to flow continuously.

• Bathtub

Bathtub water drain gets damaged or clogged easily due to bathing cleansers, hair and water quality as usual. If there is a plumbing leak in the bathtub, check for the water flow underneath the bathtub. Sometimes the bathtub drain gets loosened due to ageing and chemical interactions, you can easily identify them by filling the bathtub and checking the water level.

How can ESBAH help you?

ESBAH Emergency Plumbers is a local plumbing and drainage servicing company based in Birmingham & West Midlands. Our team has over 30 years of experience in domestic, commercial, and industrial drainage services. We are available 24*7 for 365 days, so do reach out for any Emergency Plumbing Services at an affordable cost.