Leak detection

[yaM yaM]

Anyone know how it's done? (Without destroying the house in the process, that is.)

[SleeplessMommy]

WATER leak? find an experienced plumber or someone with an infra red camera.
my sympathies.

[yaM yaM]

So, an infrared camera can do the work? Because I've had two plumbers and a handyman out. They've checked high and low and can't find the leak. I know there is one however because the bathroom smells like mold (and I'm not the only one smelling it - there have now been half a dozen people to confirm my suspicion!).

We've so far ruled-out that it's a pressurized pipe that's leaking because the water meter isn't moving around when there's no water turned on. It appears to be a drain pipe leak but, if it is in fact a drain pipe that's leaking, it's a very small leak . . so small that the leak cannot be found by the two plumbers that came and checked it. But the smell is just as apparent in the bathroom as it was before they arrived.


This is driving me nuts. What else could it be???

[yeahwhat]

Rather than a leaky pipe, could it be water getting into the walls behind the tiles from the shower.

[SleeplessMommy]

Could be a missing trap in the shower, or a problem with the vent stack for the entire house. (if sewer has can't escape, it can bubble up through the shower vent.)

Have the entire basement checked closely. Our "stinky laundry room" was fixed by filling and capping a 2" trap (connected to nothing) hidden behind the furnace.

IR camera can help find identify drywall which is damp but not yet soggy. Experience is just as good as technology, though. Try another plumber or home inspector.

[yaM yaM]

Thank you for the replies.

Gosh, this is getting really frustrating. Still can't seem to find it. Thanks for the suggestion about checking for water behind tiles, that is one that hadn't occurred to me yet nor had been suggested. However, there seems to be no water behind or around the tiles in the walls (I pushed on all of them and none of them moved at all - they appear to be totally dry).

Originally Posted by SleeplessMommy

Experience is just as good as technology, though. Try another plumber or home inspector.

Good point. Maybe I'll have someone else come out.


Ugh.

[cschick]

Has anyone taken up the toilet to make sure the wax seal is functioning correctly?

What kind of floor do you have?

Oh, yeah. Do you have baseboards in the bathroom, and have you pulled them away from the wall to check if there's mold underneath? In a humid environment like a bathroom, moisture can get trapped under baseboards and the mold can grow there.

[yaM yaM]

Originally Posted by cschick

Has anyone taken up the toilet to make sure the wax seal is functioning correctly?

What kind of floor do you have?

Oh, yeah. Do you have baseboards in the bathroom, and have you pulled them away from the wall to check if there's mold underneath? In a humid environment like a bathroom, moisture can get trapped under baseboards and the mold can grow there.

That is a good question about the wax seal. No, the toilet's not been removed but that is because all of the plumbers and other professionals I've talked to said that there would be evidence of a leak such as water seeping out or an odor close to the base of the toilet (where it meets the floor) - which there's not either of. So I decided not to go to the trouble of removing the toilet since there's no evidence there.

Yes, I have pulled out the baseboard tiles to check for mold and not seen or felt anything moist or smelly.

The floors are tile.

[Think of Winter]

How is your grout and caulking? Could water from the floor or shower be getting under your floor or wall covering? Or could it have in the past? We had that in our old bathroom. When we ripped off the walls and floor, everything was covered in mold. There had never been a leaking pipe, just water on the floor and masonite on the shower walls that wasn't water proof.