A hidden water leak in a Portsmouth home can run for months before you notice. By the time you see drywall staining or smell mildew, you’re often looking at thousands of dollars in damage that could have been prevented with a $300 leak detection visit. The good news is that hidden leaks almost always leave clues if you know what to look for.
Newman’s Plumbing Service & Repair has been finding hidden leaks in Portsmouth, Virginia and Hampton Roads since 1994. We provide non-invasive water leak detection using acoustic listening equipment, thermal imaging, and in-pipe video inspection so the leak can be located without tearing up walls or slabs. Here are the seven warning signs we tell every Portsmouth homeowner to watch for.
1. Your water bill jumped without explanation
A 20% or higher water bill increase month-over-month with no change in household usage is the single most reliable indicator of a hidden leak. The City of Portsmouth charges based on metered usage, so a leak under your slab or in your yard line shows up directly on your bill. Pull your last six months of statements and look for the jump. If you see one, call a plumber that week, not next month.
2. You hear water running when nothing is on
Stand in the middle of your house when no fixtures are running, no toilets are filling, and no appliances are active. Listen. If you hear running water, gurgling, or a faint hiss, there’s a leak somewhere in the system. This is most audible at night when the house is quiet.
3. Warm spots on the floor
This is the classic slab leak indicator. If you walk barefoot across tile or laminate and feel a warm patch in an area that shouldn’t be heated, the hot water line under the slab is leaking. The leaking hot water warms the concrete above it. Slab leaks are serious because the longer they run, the more they erode the soil under your foundation.
4. Low water pressure throughout the house
A pressure drop in a single faucet is usually a fixture issue. A pressure drop across the entire house, including outdoor spigots, often points to a leak in the main water line between the meter and the house. The water never makes it to your fixtures because it’s leaking into the ground. Newman’s Plumbing Service & Repair locates these with acoustic equipment and can often repair them with trenchless methods.
5. Damp drywall, ceiling stains, or peeling paint
Hidden leaks behind walls eventually show up on the surface as discoloration, swelling, or paint failure. The catch is that the visible damage is rarely directly below the leak. Water travels along framing and follows gravity, so a stain on the ceiling could be from a leak ten feet away. This is exactly the case where thermal imaging earns its money. The thermal camera shows the temperature pattern of where the water actually is, not where it ended up.
6. Mold or mildew smell with no visible source
That musty smell in the bathroom, basement, or hallway closet is mold or mildew growing on damp drywall or framing. If you can’t find the source, the source is hidden. Sustained moisture from even a small leak is enough to support active mold growth within 48 to 72 hours. Mold is a health issue, not just a plumbing issue, especially for kids and anyone with respiratory conditions.
7. Your water meter moves with everything off
This is the definitive test. Find your water meter (usually at the street in front of the house in a concrete box, in older Portsmouth neighborhoods sometimes in a basement). Turn off every fixture, appliance, ice maker, and irrigation system in the house. Look at the meter’s flow indicator or low-flow indicator dial (a small triangle or star on most meters). If it’s spinning or creeping, water is flowing somewhere. If it’s still after 10 minutes of complete shutoff, your system is tight.
What to do if you see multiple signs
If you see two or more of these signs, don’t wait. A leak that’s been running for months is doing damage every day it continues. Newman’s Plumbing Service & Repair offers non-invasive leak detection in Portsmouth, VA starting at $250, applied to the repair if you proceed with the work. Call (757) 465-0883 and we’ll get a plumber out to find it without tearing up your house.
If the leak is severe or you’ve already shut off your main, that’s an emergency. Call us 24/7. We respond fast and we don’t gouge you on the after-hours rate.