Reduce the chance of a water leakPinpoint Trace and Access Ltd.

Reduce The Chances of a Water Leak by Keeping Your Home Well-Maintained

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Even though water leaks can occur in even the most well-maintained homes, it’s still crucially important to be proactive in maintaining your home.

Not only does this reduce your chances of having a ‘dreaded water leak’, but it can also aid you should you need to make a home insurance claim. Many home insurance policies will expect you to keep your home in good repair and loss-adjusters may query claims where they feel more could be done to maintain a home.

No-one wants a water leak in their home and the associated hassle, only then to have their claim queried by their insurance provider. So, with that said, let’s look at some of the basic things you can do to keep your home in good condition and reduce the chances of a water leak occurring.

Check Your Roof Tiles

Water leaks caused by roof damage can be devastating. As such, you should make sure that you maintain your roof and repair it whenever it gets damaged.

Carry out a basic inspection of your roof on a regular basis, at least every six to twelve months. Start with going into your loft and looking for any light that may be coming through the roof. Inspect your beams for signs of any damp or rotting. Follow this up with a visual inspection of the exterior tiles and note any concerns (with photographs if possible). If you do find cause for concern, contact a roofing specialist who can advise.

Clean Your Gutters

Clogged gutters put pressure on your roof and could lead to water leaks. Therefore, as part of your leak prevention plan, you need to make sure that you keep your gutters clear.

When you check your roof, you should also clean your gutters. Use rubber gloves to remove any dirt and debris, and then wash the inside of the gutters with disinfectant. By keeping your gutters clean, you’ll reduce the chances of dirty rainwater building up on your roof and leaking into your home.

You might need to clean your gutters more often if they are near to trees or other sources of debris. Also, you should check and clean your gutters if you notice that water isn’t running off your roof correctly.

Get Your Boiler Serviced Annually

Water leaks don’t just come from outside; your central heating and internal water supply can also leak, causing problems in your home. One of the easiest things that you can do to reduce your chances of water leaks is to get your boiler serviced every year.

Many plumbing specialists and manufacturers offer boiler servicing, so you can easily book an appointment. Consider setting a calendar reminder so that you always remember and don’t forget.

An experienced boiler engineer can check your boiler for damage and recommend the best solution. They can also advise you on the best time to replace your boiler so that your home’s central heating system is efficient all year round.

Check The Boiler Pressure

Some simple boiler checks, such as pressure checks, you can do yourself. If you notice that your boiler isn’t working efficiently, or you lose your hot water supply, the first thing you should do is check the pressure.

Checking the pressure yourself and adjusting it is easy; if you’re not sure how to do it, then check out this handy guide. If the problem persists, or you can’t adjust the pressure yourself, then contact a boiler engineer to ensure that the problem gets fixed quickly.

Visually Inspect Pipes, Joints, And Seals

You should also inspect the pipes, joints, and seals in your home. Look at all aspects of the system for signs of wear and tear, or water supply issues. If you notice that any of your seals are loose, or that your pipes appear damaged, then contact a plumber to get them to repair or replace the damaged area.

Often, pipes crack because they freeze over during the winter months, so check that your central heating system and pipes have adequate insulation. If you’re concerned that your pipes need more insulation, then consult a plumber to find out if you need to add more.

By being proactive and checking your pipes before you notice a water leak, you’ll reduce the chances of a leak occurring. Prevention is better than the cure, as the saying goes, and this is certainly true of water leaks.

Be Proactive If You Notice A Leak

The most important piece of advice that we can give you is to act swiftly if you notice even the smallest water leak. Leaks will never fix themselves and will only grow and cause more damage over time. Your insurance company will look for evidence that you acted in a timely manner to reduce the damage caused by the leak.

Non-invasive water leak detection methodsPinpoint Trace and Access Ltd.

Non-Invasive Leak Detection: What Is It And Can Trace And Access Be Non-Invasive?

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Spotting a damp patch or water damage in your home can seem devastating. But using non-invasive water leak detection techniques, we can help you to find the leak and fix it – whilst keeping damage to an absolute minimum.

What does ‘non-invasive’ mean?

Before non-invasive methods became available, when homeowners noticed a water leak in their home, they would contact a tradesperson. This person would break into walls or ceilings, working backwards to find the source of the leak. If the leak was large, or there were a lot of pipes, then a significant amount of additional damage could be caused whilst locating the source of the water leak.

Today, there are better water leak detection techniques. Our non-invasive tactics for water leak detection mean that in the vast majority of cases we can locate the source of a leak without causing additional damage to your home.

What non-invasive technologies are there?

Thanks to our cutting-edge non-invasive water leak detection technology, we can find the source of your leak quickly and efficiently. Some of the non-invasive water leak detection services that we offer include:

Thermal imaging: Water leaks cause discrete temperature variations across surfaces. Our sensitive heat detection equipment can detect these, allowing our experienced team to trace back the leak.  The technology only needs to be in proximity to your pipes; it doesn’t need to touch them directly, so we don’t have to expose them to detect your water leaks.

Moisture meters: Moisture meters check the levels of moisture on the surfaces around your home. Our team take multiple readings to find the areas with higher levels of moisture and pinpoint the source of the water leak. Whilst moisture meters are usually non-invasive, some materials are hard to test. As such, we might need to drill a small hole to take accurate readings from inside the surface. While this approach isn’t completely non-invasive, the damage caused is very minimal.

Gas tracing:  If you suspect a central heating leak, then gas tracing is an ideal, non-invasive way to locate the source. We will drain the water from the suspected pipes, and then introduce a combination of hydrogen and nitrogen gas. This gas will escape through the leak, and our gas detection technology will find the source of the leak.

Pressure testing: An alternative to gas tracing, pressure meters are installed to measure the water pressure at different points around your central heating system. If they detect a drop in pressure in a specific section of your system, then they can narrow down the source of the leak. Pressure testing takes time, as many factors can affect the pressure of your heating system, but it’s a non-invasive and reliable way to trace leaks.

Acoustic microphones: Using digital receivers, we can check for the sound of the water leaks in your home and find them without exposing your pipes. This is more suited for locating leaks deep beneath floors, underneath concrete and other difficult to reach places.

Can trace and access be completely non-invasive?

Trace and access is made up on two parts. The first part is locating the source of the water leak, which can be completely (or very close to) non-invasive. The second part of the process is exposing the water leak so that it can be repaired – this will obviously involve some damage to the area surrounding the leak.

So whilst water leak detection can be completely non-invasive, it is likely that trace and access will involve a small amount of damage to expose the water leak. However, non-invasive leak detection techniques keep the damage to your home to an absolute minimum.