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Plumbers deal with water the most – from the water we drink, to the water we use and dispose of, and even the rainwater that falls from the sky, we plumbers manage it all.
Water is a valuable resource in our lives, but it can also be a source of concern, as we never know when or where it may cause problems.
As a plumbing company, we often encounter customers who have concerns about water, especially leaks. Leaks can manifest in various ways, such as sudden spikes in water bills or the sound of air escaping from pipes.
Detecting leaks early can save on repair costs and protect your valuable property. In this column, I will introduce a simple method to check for leaks that anyone can follow.
1-Minute Leak Detection Method:
First, locate your water meter. Typically, water meters are placed near the mailbox in front of your house, often under the lawn. They are usually on the right or left side of your property boundary. However, in townhouses or apartments, the location may be different. In this case, contacting your body corporate will help you find the water meter location.
Once you’ve located the water meter, walk around your property and make sure all garden hose taps are closed tightly. Also, close all water sources in the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet.
Return to the water meter and open the lid. Opening the lid with your hands may be difficult, so use a sturdy, long tool like a rod. It is common to find water inside the meter, but don’t worry. It’s most likely not a leak, but water that has accumulated from the lawn. If the meter is covered with mud like in photos or videos, gently scrape it off to read the numbers.
Now, set a timer for one minute. Use your phone or stopwatch to time it, and watch if the numbers on the meter change. Look for changes in the white numbers on a red background. The black numbers on a white background are used to calculate water charges by Watercare, which start from 1,000 liters. You can check how many liters of water are leaking per minute. The last digit is a decimal point. Calculate the difference in the numbers during the minute to determine the leak rate.
If the numbers on the meter don’t change, you can be assured that there is no current leak. However, if there is still standing water around your property despite no leaks, there may be an issue with sewer pipes or poor rainwater drainage. I will cover this in another column.
If the numbers on the meter change rapidly, it indicates a significant leak. In this case, you should call a professional plumbing company like ours to diagnose the leak point and repair the leaking area.
In some cases, if a pipe bursts at a depth of more than 1.5 meters, it may be difficult to detect the leak using leak detectors. In these cases, new main water pipes may be installed underground using drilling technology rather than excavating and repairing the pipe.
If the meter numbers change very slowly, it may be due to water movement within devices like hot water cylinders. In this case, we recommend checking again after an hour or two.
