How To Find Water Leakage Inside A Wall: Tips To Fix Water Leak Repair In 2022

Water leak repair can be very frustrating, and may be why you are perceiving a musty odor within your house. These leaks could be a result of bad plumbing, rusty water pipes, or cracked foundation. Whichever it may be, having a leakage inside a wall is an issue that needs urgent attention.

Leaving these leaks for a long time can lead to the peeling, fading or discoloration of your house painting. Again, it can damage your wall or lead to severe mold problems. 

However, the one way to detect this problem in your home is to look out for peeling paint or use a water leakage detector.

This blog post will cover every step and process involved in finding water leakage inside a wall.

Signs Of Water Damage In Walls

1. Discoloration – Water leakage inside your wall can cause visible discoloration on walls.
2. Molds – Molds can build up in some damp areas in your home, such as the bathroom. Moreover, a brown or black mold could be from a leaky pipe.
3. Wet spots – Wet walls could be a sign of a leaky pipe. However, know that it may not come specifically from the damp area. Water leaks can travel down from the faulty pipe or area before reaching your wall.
4. Discolored ceiling, decking, or floor – If your floor, ceiling, or drywall is warped or you think your floor feels spongy while walking on it, these are signs of a potential water leak.
5. Dripping sounds – If you hear water dripping from your shower or faucet after turning it off, you may have to call a plumber.
6. Musty smells – In situations like this, you need to have a sharp nose to smell musty odors. Often, the smell is all you need to know you have a leaky pipe.

Knowing water leak detection a wall requires some investigative skills. If your findings turn out to be accurate and you need more evidence for hidden leaks, a water meter will help verify your suspicions. The following simple steps suggest how to know if you have a leak using a water meter.

• Ensure you turn off all water appliances and faucets in your house.
• Look at the water meter in your house and take note of the usage number.
• Do not turn on any water for three hours.
• Recheck the meter (check to see if there is any change in the meter usage numbers).
• If the number goes up, it means there is a leak in your home’s plumbing. However, if there is no change in the numbers, know that the leak could be from other sources.

Tools That Can Come in Handy to Help Find Water Leakage Inside A Wall: DIY Water Leak Repair

It may seem challenging to detect water leakage inside the hall of your home. However, uncovering the water leakage can become easy if you use the following tools.

• Infrared Camera

This camera can detect moisture within a wall. It can pinpoint cold areas on a wall via color coding. On the infrared camera, damp areas are purple or blue. Professional plumbers or leak detection services providers usually use this device to pinpoint leaks within a wall.

• Moisture Meter

You can use this device to detect a leaky area on your wall. Place the meter at different areas of your wall to find the area that reads higher. The area that reads with a few higher numbers is closer to the spot that has the leaking problem.

Also, these tools are available in hardware stores or home renovation centers. They are among the advanced tools used by professionals to pinpoint invisible wall leaks.

How To Repair Water Leaks

Leaking pipes can damage your home’s flooring, drywall, and ceilings if you overlook them for a long time.

Below are the step-by-step guides to repairing water leaks.

Step 1: Turn the water off

Turn off the flow of water before trying to repair the leak once you discover the faulty pipe.

There are close-off valves underneath the kitchen sinks and your toilet. To stop the flow of water, rotate the valve anticlockwise. You might occasionally need to shut off the central valve located outside your house. Run the taps to clear the pipes after.

Step 2: Remove Any Water and Let the Pipes Dry

Ensure that any water which has gathered on nearby surfaces is mopped. After that, dry the pipes and apply the putty to the dry surface.

Plumbing epoxy is a repair material suitable for repairing and patching leaking pipes. You must wear a rubber glove before using the plumbing epoxy/putty to prevent burning your skin. Apply the epoxy around the leaking areas to thoroughly cover it, making sure you form about 0.6-inch thick putty. However, to make a tight seal, press hard around the borders of the epoxy. You can even use hot water heater.

Step 3: Change the Leaking Pipe

If you want a more lasting solution, replace the broken piece of pipe. That will require going to the DIY/hardware shop to buy the appropriate pipe size, fittings, and couplings.

Before making a purchase, be sure you have all of the necessary measurements. The coupling must have the exact size, length, and quality of the faulty pipe.

Step 4: Using Clamps to Repair Broken Water Line

Because replacing entire portions of pipes can be expensive, repairing water leaks is cheaper with pipe clamps. Pipe clamps use rubber seals on both ends to establish a tight seal in the broken pipe and prevent gas leak.

Conclusion: Repair Your Commercial Property Today From Water Leak

Water leakage can be a big problem, especially when you just finished your routine plumbing problem and didn’t detect this during the inspection. It is better to buy a moisture meter and infrared camera instead of hiring them if you don’t have them. They will always come in handy in the future. Don’t wait any longer. If you have a leaky pipe in your home, contact lighthouserestorations.org if you feel doing the repairs yourself could cause more damage to your plumbing system. It won’t cost you much, just a few dollars. Leaving longer can cause even more damages.