To check for leaks in the home, turn off the water supply inside and outside your home. Look at the test handle (represented in blue on the right); if it moves, it means that there is water passing through the meter, indicating that there is a leak. Start looking for leaks by thoroughly inspecting the appliances in your home. Check all sinks for accumulations of water, mineral deposits, and mold that indicate a leak.
Open the faucet and inspect the joints for drips. Wash the toilets, let them sit, and then add dye or food coloring tablets to the tank water. If color appears on the container without emptying it again, it means that there is a leak. Inspect tank components for problems.
Your water meter should have a leak indicator. In most units, this is a wheel or a small triangle. The leak indicator is designed to identify tiny amounts of water moving through the pipes in your home. If you have properly disconnected everything else that consumes water and your water is moving, it is because you have a leak in the pipes.
If you notice visible water damage to your home, you can skip this step, as you have pretty strong evidence that there is some kind of leak in your house. If water damage worsens over the course of several days without rain, that also indicates that it is a leak in a pipe, not in the roof. Standard policies can cover sudden damage caused by pipe leaks and breaks, but they often have monetary limits per incident. You can prevent many leaks through proactive maintenance, such as annual water heater testing, replacing water heater valves and pipes, and replacing worn-out toilet flaps and fill valves every three or five years.
Even small leaks, such as from a constantly dripping faucet, can waste up to 10,000 gallons of water a year, so keeping an eye on your water bill is a smart and proactive practice. Locating the source of a water leak in your home's plumbing system can save you money on your water bill and prevent damage.
