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When pipes leak, bad things happen.

Water leaks can cause an unnecessary and drastic spike in your monthly water bill, forcing you to pay much, much more than you need to. Obviously, water leaking from pipes can also cause water damage and flooding if left unaddressed and unattended, costing you hundreds, possibly thousands, in repairs to your home.

For these reasons, it is imperative that every home owner understands how serious leaks can be and how to spot them. Unfortunately, finding the cause of a leak may be difficult to determine and fixing the issue may not be as simple as a patch job.

Here are a couple easy ways to spot a water leak. If you notice any of these issues accompanied by a mysteriously rising water bill , it's time to call a plumber.

Showerhead and Faucet

Keeping an eye on your showerhead and faucets is perhaps the simplest way to identify a water leak.

When you turn off your faucet, water should stop flowing, right? Well, some drops for a moment or two isn't necessarily an issue, but if long after you've turned it off there is still a constant stream or drops, it's a good bet there's a leak that needs fixing.

It may not seem like a lot of leaking water, but over time this can add up to gallons upon gallons of wasted water and will hike up you water bill sky-high.

Toilet

Toilets are maybe the hardest working and most active piece of plumbing in the average household. For that reason, toilets are another common place you will find leaks.

Even something as simple as a toilet tank with a flapper that doesn't close can waste thousands of gallons of water in just a month. If you live in a home that uses a well, that leaky, wasteful toilet can cost you a boatload.

Fortunately, like faucets, toilet leaks can be fairly easily identified by the noise of running water. If you noticed having to jiggle the handle to stop the tank from filling or having to flush multiple times, it's a good bet a visit from your plumber is in order.

Waterline

A leak in your main waterline , pipes behind walls, under floorboards and underground , can be the most difficult to identify, but the most dangerous to overlook. These kinds of leaks won't just hike up your bill but have a greater chance of costing you even more in water damage repairs.

Early signs of water damage, water leaking from your walls, floorboards and even flooding or pooling in your yard are indicators, but unfortunately, it is usually harder to tell than that. The only way to know for sure is to call in a professional plumber to diagnose and fix the issue. Do-it-yourself pipe repair or replacement inside your walls or behind surfaces is strongly discouraged. You could end up doing more harm than good.

Pay attention to what your home is telling you. Keep a careful eye on your utility bills and water pressure each month and keep an ear open for any strange or out of place noises and you have a great chance at catching these kinds of leaks early.

Whether it's your faucet, showerhead, toilet or something more major, your best, and first, course of action should be to call a plumber you trust, like Chapman Heating | Air Conditioning | Plumbing. We proudly serve all of Indianapolis and central Indiana and our experienced team of service technicians can help resolve any of your plumbing-related needs or issues.