Do You Have A Leak Under Your Floor?

How do you know if you have a hidden leak?

Most leaks are pretty obvious! They may result in a damp floor, water dripping through a ceiling or you might have a damp patch appear on a wall. But in many cases there will be no visible evidence of a leak at all.

If you can’t see any evidence of water escape or build up in or around your property, what are some of the clues that alert our customers to a leak in the first place?

Without ripping out the cupboard and tearing apart the floors and walls, how can you start to deduce what the problem might be?

No matter what the leak is on, or where the leak is located there is a high chance that our Trace and Access services will be able to help!

Read on to find out some of most common tell-tale signs of a leak witnessed by our customers:

Combi Boiler Losing Pressure

If this happens more than once, it might be due to a leak on your central heating system.

If you’ve had your boiler looked at by a boiler engineer and they have confirmed that it’s in good working order, chances are you’ve got a leak on the pipework somewhere.

If you can’t see anything above ground, you guessed it!

It means the leak is probably on pipework buried in the floor.

Ball valves on heating feeds/expansion cistern/cold water cistern constantly running or dripping

If any of the ball valves in your property are dripping or running constantly even though no water is being used, this is a sign that water is being lost somewhere due to a leak.

Water Meter Constantly running/spinning even with no water being used in the property

If you are not consciously using any water appliances in your property, but the meter continues to clock up usage, the usage showing on the meter is probably due to a leak.

A modern, accurate water meter will pick up even a millilitre of water being lost by your leak.

So your meter can not only be a useful indicator of a leak, but if you carry out a meter test, it can even tell you the size of the leak.

This can be useful for us to know, particularly if your leak is very small.

Hissing noises coming from inside your floors or walls

If your leak is under a suspended floor, the water escaping from the pipe is likely to make a faint ‘hissing’ sound.

This is a particularly handy clue if your property doesn’t have a water meter and you are unable to carry out a meter test.

Water bills higher than usual

Your water meter can’t tell if water is being used by YOU or being lost due to your leak.

So until you can prove that your high water usage is due to a leak, it is likely that you will be charged for whatever amount of water has been registered by your meter.

This can be quite scary!

But once we help you prove that you have had a leak, by performing a Leak Detection and providing you with a report as evidence, the Water Companies will often discount or write off the additional charges.

Your local Water Company reported a leak on your premises

Leaks are often identified during routine tests carried out by local Water Companies.

If your local Water Company identifies a leak on your property, they will usually write to you to inform you, and request that you get the problem found a fixed within a certain period of time, usually around a month.

This is never welcome news, but as long as you contact us as soon as possible after receiving the letter, we should be able to help you get the problem resolved in time.

We can normally accommodate a water leak detection appointment within days of receiving your phone call.

If you’re experiencing any of the above problems at your property, don’t panic!

Just call ADI on 0800 731 3843. You’ll also want to contact us if you do have damp or water penetration issues, and your plumber has been unable to locate the root cause of the problem.

Don’t forget, our staff are always happy to give free advice if you’re feeling confused or uncertain about whatever situation might be occurring at your property.