Leaks and water damage can happen anywhere or be completely hidden from plain sight. Here are the ways to spot hidden leaks so you can start to fix and prevent further need for repairs.
Why are leaks so common?
Everything ages with time. In a home, this includes roofs, gutters, downspouts, toilets, and faucets. When these get old, they eventually start to malfunction and cause problems.
In many multifamily homes or condos, plumbing problems are also common.
Most leaks aren’t visible and aren’t easy to notice right away. That’s why they’ve been known to create damage in your home that isn’t easily noticeable at first.
How to Spot Leaks
When leaks are discovered, homeowners need to seek professional help quickly to prevent further damage.
Here are some ways to get started on spotting hidden water leaks:
Look for the leak source
If you don’t know where it’s coming from, you won’t be solving the main problem. You can check these areas first, where leaks are more than likely to occur:
- kitchen
- bathroom
- roof
- attic
- chimney
Sometimes, though, it doesn’t have to be a room in the home. So you should also double-check window frames, ledges, or gutters because these may be clogged out.
Look out for the plumbing
Kitchens and baths in buildings are usually above each other. The most common leaks also come from toilets, bathroom tubs, or shower drains.
So for a leak in one unit, many times, we have to open up the ceiling of the unit below it to take a look and test the leaks.
When testing the plumbing on buildings, you have to do so one at a time. You don’t want to test them simultaneously because sometimes they funnel into one drain, and you won’t be able to figure out the source of the issue.
Also, remember that stack pipes can be a harder issue because you have to open up walls vertically in order to access and see that.
Invest in equipment
If you have a leak in your house, you must find the source before calling a plumber or starting to tear things apart. A video camera is a great tool that helps you do that.
With a video camera, I can find where the leak comes from without taking apart too much stuff. It only requires me to poke a little hole through a wall so I can locate the leak source even within the walls but not create too much wall damage.
The Landlord Tutor Promise
There are different types of leaks that can occur. But because I have been managing properties for over twenty years, solving leaks is something I do on a daily occurrence.
If you would like to know how to efficiently and cost-effectively spot and solve property issues such as hidden water leaks, join the Landlord Tutor community and sign up here.
