You’re sitting in your living room reading a book, or playing solitaire on your tablet, all of a sudden you notice a stain on a ceiling — that’s new…and frightening. You know that the simple discolored spot means massive colonies of mold are growing too. All that destruction from a home water leak. .

Big or small, home water leaks can cause water damage almost anywhere in your home. From your bathroom to your kitchen, and even the basement, home water leaks are destructive – but they are almost entirely preventable, too.

Get the scoop on the most common home water leaks, where you can find them, what kind of damage they can cause, and how you can protect your home.

Home Water Leaks

These are the most common plumbing system leaks that cause problems for homeowners.

Leaking Tub or Leaking Shower

A faulty seal is the most common reason your tub will leak. Obviously, a bathroom floor is bound to get wet. However, a leaking bathtub produces a lot more water than wet feet that are fresh out of a shower. The water from a leaking tub or shower can cause mold growth either on your floor—or, even worse and less noticeable, in your subfloor.

In a worst case scenario, a leaking tub can necessitate a full bathroom remodel.

Leaking Faucet

While there are a few exceptions, generally, a leaking faucet doesn’t cause too much damage. When a faucet leaks, the water drains down the sink itself or pools on the countertop. That doesn’t mean you can ignore a leaking a faucet, though. All home water leaks should be taken seriously.

Leaking Toilet

Your toilet can leak in two ways: around the seal or internally.

A toilet that leaks around the seal can cause mold damage similar to a leaking tub. Your floor, subfloor, and anything in the surrounding area are in danger of disgusting and unhealthy mold growth.

An internal toilet leak causes water from the toilet tank to drain right into the sewer. Since this water leak doesn’t make a mess, you’ll likely only notice a toilet leak when you see the spike in your water bill.

Leaking Sink Pipes

During this common home water leak, the pipes under your sink leak a steady stream of water all over your cabinets. Since sink cabinets are almost always made of wood, mold growth is a likely symptom of this leak.

Since your sink pipes are out of sight, they tend to be out of mind. This type of home water leak often catches homeowners unaware.

Leaking Garbage Disposal

This hardworking appliance makes meal time cleanup a breeze. Yet year after year of doing a tough job can often cause this piece of kitchen hardware to leak.

The leaks from a garbage disposal tend to smell particularly foul—and like almost all the other home water leaks, they can cause mold growth.

Leaking Hot Water Heater

When your traditional hot water heater goes belly-up, sometimes it leaks massive gallons of water. This leak occurs as the metal tank rusts out. Avoid this nightmare — especially if you have a finished basement.

Washing Machine Hoses

If your washing machine hoses leak or burst, you won’t see it until it’s way too late. Your washing machine hosing are always running, so if they burst, it’s a maximum disaster.

When a washing machine hoses bursts it’s the equivalent of stopping up your tub and letting it run for hours. Essentially, it’s an indoor flood.

Leaking Water Pipes

SOS!

Leaking water pipes are one of the most destructive plumbing disasters possible. The good news, though: they are rare.

Since these pipes are embedded in your walls, you can’t simply check to see if your pipes are leaking.

The biggest indication of a leaking water pipe is a wet spot on your ceiling or wall. If you notice unexplained water damage, call us ASAP!.

Home Comfort Collection to Help Prevent Home Water Leaks

One of the best ways to help prevent home water leaks is to make sure an expert set of eyes examines your plumbing system on a regular basis. That’s why we offer all homeowners in our service area the Home Comfort Collection, our plumbing system protection plan.

The Home Comfort Collection is our service plan that ensures you receive a regular inspection from a Benjamin Franklin Plumber—along with cash coverage to pay for any emergency work you might need. In fact, we offer several Home Comfort Collection options to help you tailor Benjamin Franklin Plumbing services to your exact needs.

When homeowners sign up for the Home Comfort Collection, they feel secure knowing that we’ll find problems before they arise and that they’ll be covered in the event of an emergency.

7 Home Water Leaks