You may have been an adept water savior, but there are chances that you are unaware about little water leakages happening at your home. Minor water leakages are thought to waste around 14% of the total consumed water. You have to be extremely vigilant about plumbing fixtures at your place.
If you think that you have to call in experts for minor leakages, you need to rethink your priorities. There is no doubt about the fact that water leakages are trickier to repair, however, a little understanding about the plumbing lines would save you money and time. The least you could do is to fix the problem temporarily till the plumber arrives.
Following are a few DIY tips for repairing water leaks at your place.
Detect the Problem
The first thing that you need to do is to detect the leak. The most common ways are to look out for wet areas, plants growing near pipe works and no pressure of water in the lines. You can also check pressure relief valve because mostly it is directly plumbed into the drain, therefore, there is high probability of leakage there. Leaking water has a distinctive hissing sound, so just watch out for that. Another clever way is to shut all the valves and water resources, if your meter is still working, there is definitely water leaking somewhere in your house.
Turn off the Main Supply
If you have finally detected water leakage, the best and the simplest way is to turn off the main supply. This would save a lot of money because your meter takes readings of the leakages as well. So, just turn it off, pick up your phone and call the best plumbing service in the area.
Cover the Leakage
One way to tackle the problem is to cover the affected area with a spare rubber pipe. You can also cut a piece of garden hose pipe and secure it around the leakage with a waterproof tape. Also, if it is a tiny hole, you can cover it up with the tape only. It can secure till your plumber arrives.
Use Epoxy to Seal
Another way is to use epoxy glue to seal the seepage. All you would have to do is to follow the instructions and not to get the mixture wrong. Apply it over the area and let all your water main supplies turned off, till it dries off.
Replace the Pipe and Joints
If the problem is not too grand to handle, you can easily replace the tap of joint causing all the troubles. For that, you should have a well equipped DIY plumbing tool kit. You can also research and watch a few pipe repairing and replacing videos to learn the basic. All work out in the end, if you are creative enough.
It is always good to save yourself some money by repairing water leakages yourself. But if the problem persists, you can consult the plumbing agency!