Water damage is perhaps one of the biggest risks to your home. Even so, many homeowners have little knowledge of the effects of water damage let alone how to choose a leak detection expert.
One of the worst things about water damage is it can strike your home at any time and go unnoticed for weeks. The difficulty to detect leaks is one of the reasons why water damage is so dangerous, as the longer they go undetected the more damage they cause. So what is water damage and how can it affect your home?
What is water damage?
It sounds self explanatory, but just what is water damage? Essentially, water damage is caused by leaks in your home and affects the structural integrity of the building. If water makes its way into your walls, floors, or even foundations this can prove incredibly damaging and extremely costly.
The first signs of leak damage to your home will likely come in the form of small patches of mould where the moisture is most prominent. Once the mould has started to take hold it is extremely difficult to remove. Many homes spend years trying to remove mould as unfortunately, fungus is incredibly resistant. Mould in your home won’t only have aesthetic consequences but it may also damage your health. The small particles of mould eventually find their way into the air around the room and if this is inhaled it can severely damage your lungs.
Don’t worry though, there are many ways you can prevent your house from ever suffering from water damage. So, what are some easy ways to safeguard your house?
Take care of your home
Likely the easiest method you can employ to keep leaks at bay is to regularly care for the building and complete maintenance. One of the most common water leak causes is when a home has been severely neglected. If you regularly look after your house and fix any issues that come up as soon as possible the chances of a leak developing will be much smaller.
Building inspections
Even if you are competent at DIY, nothing beats a professional's eye and that's why you should have building inspections as regularly as possible. An inspector can spot a maturing issue before it has even started to leak yet meaning you can repair or reinforce the problem area before a leak has developed. Aside from helping to avoid leaks, an inspector can also give you peace of mind that you’re doing a great job and your home is in great condition.
Locate your stop cock
If a leak does develop, the first thing you should do is cut off the water supply to your home, this will give you time to plan the next steps. The stop cock is a small lever or tap that will cut off your home's water from the main supply. Clearly, this lever is extremely important to any homeowner. However, many people don't know the exact location of their stop cock as it is so rarely used. It is therefore imperative that you locate the stop cock and make a note of its location.
Enlist the help of a leak detection service
We’re sure your home is just like any other and there are people constantly coming and going as you go off to work and kids head off to school. This hectic and constant lifestyle means that at times, things get forgotten. Leaks or home maintenance is one of those things that usually take a backseat role in your mind when you’re stressed and understandably so. Therefore it would be prudent to enlist the help of a domestic leak detection service which will have your back if anything ever goes wrong.
How are leaks detected?
What if the worst has happened and you notice some water damage in your home? Often in this situation, it is best to call an expert straight away. After all, you can never truly be sure you’ve found the source of the problem on your own. However, with an accredited professional you’ll be able to rest easy knowing your leak has been detected accurately.
Here is a brief overview of some vital leak detection technology that your trusted professional may use when finding the source of your leak.
Video inspection equipment
One of the most precise techniques professionals employ is video inspection. The detector uses a small camera fitted to a long flexible fibre optic cable. They insert this cable into the pipework allowing them to navigate the pipeline and accurately locate a break or fracture in the piping.
Listening discs
Arguably one of the more rudimentary techniques, listening discs involve using a small but sensitive microphone and a set of earphones. The microphone amplifies the sounds of running or dripping water which allows the detector to accurately pinpoint the source of the leak before they excavate the target area.
Soil probe
This technique is slightly less common as soil probes are mainly used to detect mains water pipelines that travel through gardens. However, the basic principle is similar to a listening disc, the only difference is the microphone is attached to a small probe that is pushed into the soil.
Thermal imaging camera
This is likely one of the most useful detection techniques available to a professional as they can find leaks beneath floorboards or even inside walls. The heat scanners will actually determine the location of any water, making it extremely easy to discover leaks.
Right, you think you might have a leak, what are the next steps and how can you ensure you’re hiring the best detection service for the job?
How to choose a detection service
Whether you have a leak in your home or your commercial property, it is imperative that you hire a professional team to determine the location of the leak. After all, it's no use hiring a firm that only does half a job as the leak may return and then you’ll be spending double the money that you needed. So what should you look out for in a leak detection finder?
Services on offer
First of all, you’ll need to decide on what kind of service you need. You might need domestic leak detection for your home for example, or maybe you need your central heating looked at. Either way, you need to pick a firm that provides all of these options for you .So, whatever your needs, they’ve got you covered.
Cost
Of course one of the most important parts of any home improvement or maintenance is the cost. It's difficult to ignore that maintenance costs can be extremely expensive so make sure you're getting the right price for you and the best possible quality of work.
Equipment
Realistically there's no use employing a leak detection service if they don’t have the right level of equipment to detect a leak. For example, thermal imaging equipment is extremely expensive for a firm to buy and therefore many choose to go without. However, there are plenty of jobs that simply cannot be completed without this leak detection technology, so you should determine whether the company has all of the up-to-date equipment in the industry.
Reputation
As with any service-based business, reputation means everything. After all, nothing says more about a company than customers' honest reviews. It’s a good idea then to look up a company's reviews and make sure that the customer satisfaction rate is, in general, good.
Where they’re based
Perhaps one of the more obvious points in this list, it is essential that you check the areas covered by your chosen leak detection specialist. After all, there's no use hiring a firm that has to travel for hours to see to your repair. Not only will this cost more but it’ll also slow the repair process and potentially leave you with more damage.
There you have it then, a complete list of what to look out for in a leak detection service. First and foremost, your chosen firm should be professional, friendly, and efficient so make sure they tick all of those boxes before you make the decision. They should fill you with confidence that the job is in safe hands so you can get back to normal life as safely and quickly as possible.
If you would like to speak with some leak detection experts, contact our friendly team today!