How to Detect a Hidden Water Leak

Hidden leaks are the expensive kind — they run quietly behind walls, under floors, or underground for weeks or months before there’s any visible sign, all the while pushing your water bill up and potentially causing structural damage.

Check your water meter

This is the simplest home test. Turn off every tap and appliance that uses water, then check your water meter and note the reading. Wait an hour without using any water, then check again. If the reading has moved, water is flowing somewhere in your system even though nothing is switched on.

Watch your water bill

A water bill that’s noticeably higher than usual, with no change in your household’s actual water use, is one of the most reliable early signs of a hidden leak.

Look and listen

• Damp patches, discolouration, or a musty smell on walls, ceilings or floors
• Warm patches on flooring, which often points to a hot water pipe leaking under a slab
• The sound of running water when every tap in the house is off
• Unexpectedly lush or soggy patches in the garden with no obvious cause

Why guessing doesn’t work

Once you know water is leaking somewhere, finding the exact spot without breaking open walls or floors needs proper detection equipment — acoustic listening devices and thermal imaging can pinpoint a leak’s location accurately, so repairs are targeted rather than exploratory. The sooner it’s found, the less damage it causes and the smaller the repair.