Leak guides
How to Detect a Water Leak in Your House: A Room-by-Room Walk
To detect a water leak in your house, walk it room by room with a torch, a dry tissue and a cheap thermometer, starting where leaks are most likely: bathroom…
Leak guides
Find the leak: guides by symptom and room
In short
A damp patch, a stain or a bill that keeps climbing usually has one of a few causes. Each guide says what the sign usually means and what is safe to check yourself. Start with the signs of a hidden leak or a leak you cannot find, or choose your room.
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Leak guidesBubbling Paint on a Wall: What the Bubbles Are Telling You
Paint bubbles when water, or water vapour, gets behind the film and pushes it off the plaster. Small clusters usually mean vapour or condensation. A few large…
Leak guidesDishwasher Leaking From the Bottom: Read the Timing
A dishwasher leaking from the bottom is machine, inlet pipework or waste pipework, and the timing separates them. Water at the start of a cycle points to…
Leak guidesFlexible Tap Connector Leaking: Which End, Which Joint, and How Old Is It?
A flexible tap connector leaks at one of four places: the nut at the tap, the nut at the supply pipe, the crimped collar, or the braided body itself. Each…
Leak guidesHow to Tell if There Is a Leak in a Wall: Read the Layers
A leak in a wall shows through its layers, outermost first: paint blisters or stains, plaster goes soft, cold or dark, skirting and tile joints discolour, and…
Leak guidesI Have a Water Leak but Can't Find It: A Self-Check With a Stopping Point
If you know water is escaping but cannot see it, work through five safe checks: confirm the leak is real, sort it into supply, waste or heating, isolate…
Leak guidesKitchen Floor Wet Near the Sink With No Obvious Leak
A kitchen floor that is wet near the sink with no obvious leak is usually splash, condensation, a slow drip or a hidden pipe. A two-day log separates them: dry…
Leak guidesSigns of a Hidden Water Leak, Ranked by How Far You Can Trust Them
The most reliable signs of a hidden water leak are the ones that change while nobody is using water: a stain that grows, a sound that continues, a patch that…