If you have a leak, plumbers can help you to determine where it is coming from.  This can be harder than it sounds.  If you have water leaking under the sink or at the base of the toilet, finding and correcting it is fairly easy.  All you need is a visual inspection to determine what the problem is.  If, however, you are noticing that the water is dripping from the ceiling or through one of your walls, finding the leak becomes more difficult. The first step is to inspect every room in your home for signs of water damage.  Look for dark colored spots in your ceiling, lines running down your wall, or places where the paint is starting to peel away as these are all signs of water damage. Additionally, you may be able to see a spot that is physically dripping water. Next, have the plumbers look at all of your bathrooms and your kitchen to determine if they can visually see any water leakage that could be causing the problem. Look under the cabinets, on the floor, and turn on all of the fixtures.  See if any water is visually leaking from around the fixture such as the handles for your sink or shower.  You should also flush each toilet to see if any water leaks onto the floor when you do. Look around your appliances.  This will typically require pulling them out.  Before you do so, turn off the water so that you don’t create a bigger mess.  There may be signs of water damage near your appliances.  For example, if there is a soft spot in the kitchen floor you know that the leak may be coming from something in the kitchen.  Pulling out the dishwasher and fridge will give you a good idea if they are the source of the problem.  If there is moisture or mold where they were, the leak may be coming from the supply line. Plumbers can also inspect your basement or crawl space to determine if any water is leaking into it and if so from where. While down there, they will also inspect any exposed pipes to look for signs of corrosion, mildew, or rotted wood.  This can shed further light on what is causing the problem in the rest of the house. Once they have a general idea of where the leak is coming from, plumbers will typically start by fixing the most obvious and easy sources of the leak; for example, replacing a leaky bathroom faucet or a toilet ring.  These are easy fixes that won’t disrupt the rest of your home.  If none of these are to blame and the leak is coming from something within the wall, a portion of the wall will need to be removed so that they can further inspect and identify the problem.  This can take time, so be patient.  With the right amount of tests and tools, they will determine where the leak is coming from and stop it before your home experiences additional damage. At Jay Young, we are experts so call today if you have a water leak in your home.