Emergency Leak Detection in Wellington, FL

What to do first when you suspect an active leak

Five minutes of checking before the plumber arrives saves time on site and tells us where to start.

1. 1

   Stop the obvious water

   If water is dripping or pooling, close the main shutoff valve, usually near the front hose bib or inside the garage on the wall closest to the street. Turn a round handle clockwise until it stops, or turn a lever a quarter turn across the pipe.

2. 2

   Run the meter test

   Turn off every tap, the ice maker and the washing machine. Open the meter lid and look at the small leak dial. If it creeps with everything off, water is escaping somewhere.

3. 3

   Check the toilets

   A few drops of food coloring in each tank, then wait 15 minutes without flushing. Color in the bowl means a leaking flapper, a common and cheap cause of a moving meter.

4. 4

   Call and describe the symptom

   Tell the dispatcher what moved, what is wet and where. That decides which locating tools ride on the truck.

Do not drill or cut into drywall yourself. Opening the wrong spot spreads moisture and still misses the pipe.

Meter still running with every tap off

This is the cleanest sign of a leak, because the meter does not guess. When the dial moves with no fixture in use, water is leaving your plumbing somewhere between the meter and a fixture. The only question is where.

We start by splitting the property into zones, one test at a time. First close the house main and watch the meter. If it still moves, the leak is on the buried line between the meter and the house. If it stops, the leak is inside the house, and closing the water heater shutoff narrows it further.

Then run a separate test: close the irrigation supply and watch the meter again. An irrigation tie-in is usually upstream of the house main, so a meter that slows or stops here points to the sprinklers.

Once the zone is known, we narrow it with pressure testing and acoustic listening. A pinhole under pressure hisses, and sensitive microphones pick that up through flooring.

A high water bill with no change in habits

The Village of Wellington's own billing guidance says leaky fixtures and irrigation are the most common reasons for high usage. That matches what plumbers see: a toilet flapper that no longer seals, a sprinkler zone stuck open, a hose bib dripping behind a shrub. None of these look dramatic, and all of them run all night.

The village has a rule about sewer charges when monthly usage passes 15,000 gallons in a billing cycle, but treat it as a footnote, not a plan. Ask Wellington Utilities customer service how it applies to your account, and fix the leak so the next bill is the one you expected.

A wet ceiling or damp wall

A brown stain on a ceiling usually sits below the real problem, not on top of it. Water follows joists and pipe runs before it shows, so the source can be several feet from the spot. A two-story home adds a bathroom, a supply line or an air handler drain pan to the suspect list.

If the ceiling is bulging, do not poke it with the lights on. Stay clear, place a bucket, switch the circuit off at the breaker, and call. A saturated drywall panel holds a lot of weight.

Leaks in walls and floors you cannot see into

Supply and drain lines also run through garage walls, closets and the chase beside the water heater, where a slow drip can go unseen for weeks. Soaked and sagging insulation, a musty smell in a closet or a floor that feels soft near a bathroom are the usual tells.

Many South Florida homes sit on concrete slabs, so the same symptoms can mean a line inside or under the slab. That is its own job, covered on our slab leak repair page.

Buried line leaks between the meter and the house

A leak in the underground line often shows up as a patch of lawn that stays green and spongy in dry weather, a puddle with no rain, or low pressure at every tap. Ask your utility where its responsibility ends before you plan any digging. We trace it by pressurizing the line and listening along its route, so the trench stays short.

When the line itself is failing, the fix is on the water line repair page: spot repair, a new section or a full replacement, and we explain which is which before work starts.

Irrigation leaks that hide in the yard

Sprinklers run on a timer, so a broken head or a cracked lateral can empty a tank of water before anyone notices. Look for soggy strips, geysers at the head, or zones that stay wet long after the cycle ends.

A valve that sticks open runs all day and pushes the meter at a steady rate, which is why we close the irrigation supply first during a meter test.

Which symptom points to which kind of leak

Use this as a starting guide. A technician confirms it with instruments.

Pool, spa, commercial and meter-box leaks

Pool and spa leaks are mostly a different problem from a house leak. The equipment pad has plumbing we can pressure test, but a crack in a shell or a liner needs a pool specialist. If your auto-fill line is the one leaking, we can find that.

For shops, restaurants and offices, a leak often hides above a drop ceiling or inside a wall shared with a neighbor. Our commercial plumbing team handles those jobs on a schedule that fits the business.

A wet meter box is a short one. If water stands in it, photograph it and call. Ask your utility where its responsibility ends before any digging starts.

What you can check yourself and what needs a licensed plumber

Homeowner checks narrow the search. They rarely finish it.

The Village of Wellington's permit application says a separate permit must be secured for plumbing, so ask the Building Division what your job needs.

While you wait for the technician

Small steps that protect the house and make the visit faster.

What decides the cost of finding and fixing a leak

Finding a leak and repairing it are two different jobs, and the price follows the work. We give you a clear price before work starts, so no surprises come after the meter test.

Insurance usually responds to sudden, accidental water damage. Gradual leaks and wear are often excluded, and policies differ, so read yours or call your agent. A written leak report helps either way.

Questions homeowners ask

Still have a question? Call (561) 448-8545