Useful Tips on Detecting And Repairing Common Leaks At Home

The home is full of the potential for leaks – this is especially true for older homes where pipes are worn and aged. These tips will help you detect the leaks in question and also deal with them.

Leaking Faucets 

In most cases, leaking faucets are due to a worn out rubber washer. A sink’s rubber washer is often situated underneath the handle. Given the right tools, these can be replaced with relative ease. However, you must shut off the water under the sink or in some cases, the main shut off valve. Of course, you should remove the handle as well. Take note that faucet handles are different from shutoff valves. Once you find the particular problem using water leak detection equipment you can visit your local hardware store or home centre to get tips on how to repair your faucet leaks.

Leaking Toilets 

You may not realize it, but toilet leaks can waste several hundred gallons of water each year. Even a minor leak can cause huge volumes of wasted water. Not to mention, it also wastes your money. Thankfully, most toilet leaks can be repaired in an easy and inexpensive manner.

In order to determine whether you have a toilet leak, just remove the tank lid and add a few drops of food colouring in the back of the tank. If there’s no food colouring in your kitchen, then you can just use dye tabs which you can buy from any hardware store. After about 30 minutes, take a look at the toilet bowl and check whether there’s any colour in the water. Do this without flushing. If the water remains clear, then there’s no leak. Otherwise, you have a toilet leak problem which must be repaired as soon as possible.

Most toilet leaks only call for a replacement of the toilet flapper or the filling mechanism. You can purchase these parts from any hardware stores, and the price hovers around 8 bucks each.

Flapper Valve Leaks 

The most common cause for a toilet leak is when the flapper doesn’t function properly. This is the rubber valve found at the bottom of the tank which goes up every time the toiled is flushed. A worn out or cracked flappers allows water to flow nonstop from the tank and into the bowl even without flushing the toilet.

Flush Handle Problems 

If the flush handle must be jiggled to prevent the toilet from running, then there’s a chance that the flush level bar and chain might be sticking. This can be solved by adjusting the nut that secures the bar and chain inside the tank. If the problem persists, it’s time to replace the flush handle.

Overflow Tube Leaks 

The water level, ideally, must be set in a way that it’s even with the fill line found on the back of the tank, about half an inch below the overflow tube. A water level that’s too high and spills into the overflow tube must be adjusted, which can be achieved by turning the adjustment screw or bending the float arm down a bit to enable the water to shut off at the ideal level.

If these DIY repair tips do not work, don’t hesitate to call in a professional plumber to repair the toilet leak or replace broken parts.