The kitchen and the bathroom are the two places where water runs the most, and arguably, the bathroom deals with a higher volume of water of the two. This means that preventing leaks is not only harder in the bathroom, but that you should also take extra precautions in order to avoid them.
Just to get it out of the way, in case your bathroom has minor leaks, generally you can fix them right up with some leak spray or putty, but if you have a bulging pipe or even worse, a cracked pipe, then you should best call a plumber. They have the best tools and expertise to get the job done quickly, and can save you from flooding your house or worse, your neighbors!
Now let’s get to some practical solutions on how to prevent bathroom leaks.
1. Make sure your plumbing is in good shape
Frequent leaks are caused by pipes freezing in the winter or even cracking from the water pressure. Depending on how new your house is, you might not have any issues with the pipes, but for residences on the older side, piping in bad shape can be a good indicator of needing a plumber. There are a few methods of figuring out if your plumbing is the culprit for sudden leaks, such as water spots in the ceiling or the corners of the bathroom, mold and bills that are pricier than usual. Check your walls to see if some spots are softer than others, which might mean water damage.
2. Double-check your toilet from time to time
Older toilets might be prone to all sorts of leaks. The most pernicious one is if the piston of the system doesn’t sit flush (no pun intended) inside its socket. This way, water gradually sips through into the toilet bowl. If your toilet suffers from this and if you look closely after flushing, you can see a thin trickle of water going down into the bowl. What also happens is that when the water level goes down under a certain level, the system detects that the tank has been “emptied”, even though it’s just a faulty system. This way, you’ll hear the tank filling back again until the float ball aligns the inlet valve and the toilet is full again. But the problem is, the tank will be in a perpetual state of leaking water and filling back up again, which will increase your water bill without you knowing.
Usually this issue is fairly easily noticeable, although it can escape your grasp if you’re not familiar with it. Generally you can fix it by either changing the piston or the whole system. Finding specific parts of the system (such as a piston) might be a drag, so be prepared to pay for a whole system. Depending on your toilet, you might even use a temporary fix, depending on the flushing system you have installed; for example, if you have a vertical handle that you lift up and pull down to engage the flushing, you can press harder on the handle, which will make sure that the piston is properly snug inside the socket, preventing any further trickling of water.
That’s one type of toilet leak, another can occur if your toilet gets clogged. Since water cannot properly go down the pipes, water can overflow the bowl. Make sure you open the tank up and lift the up flapper, preventing the water from overflowing the bowl. Fortunately, unclogging your toilet isn’t hard if you have yourself a good plunger and some patience. Also, always keep in mind to never flush anything else except toilet paper, as things can get clogged pretty quickly otherwise. Keep a small trash can in your bathroom if you need to throw other things besides toilet paper. Even paper towels are a no-no, since they dissolve harder than toilet paper, clogging your toilet fast.
Most of the same advice here applies to showers as well. Make sure your shower properly drains, your showerheads are unclogged and do not
3. Keep a bucket and some spongy materials at hand
When things get rough, the last thing you want to do is run around the house and search for things that can absorb the overflowing water. Keeping a bucket and a mop near can save you a lot of headaches. Things such as sponges, bath mats, towels and mops can help you not only clean after water damage, but also avert any possible floods. You can even use them as impromptu pipe cloggers to block a leaking pipe from trickling water into your bathroom, until you get to do some emergency repair on them. When the bucket gets filled up, search for the nearest (working) drain and flush it down the drain. It’s a no-brainer to say that you should also have a plumber in your contacts list for cases like these. You don’t want to waste time searching for a plumber when your house is flooding.
Conclusion
Preventing bathroom leaks can be a tricky affair, but fortunately there are specific ways of avoiding water damage and floods so that you keep your bathroom clean and dry. We hope that this article has shed some light on the different things to watch out for and has presented to you a few solutions that can properly keep you from having to urgently call a plumber.
