Fast Plumbing Answers: I Hear Water Running In My Walls

“I hear water running in my walls.” You’re probably anxious, wondering if there’s going to be water damage in your home. Do you have a water line leak? Is it a hot water or cold water line issue? Or do you just have a leaky toilet?

Don’t worry: we’ll answer all your questions in 2 minutes or less.

We’re Mother, a Dallas-Fort Worth plumbing company that provides dependable, hassle-free modern plumbing for homeowners who value quality. Call us 7 days a week for fast, precise leak detection services that restore your peace of mind.

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A Simple Sound, But a Complex Diagnosis

If you hear water running in your walls, there’s certainly an issue somewhere in your home’s plumbing system. It’s likely a water line issue, but diagnosing its exact location requires a few more pieces of information.

One of ourJourneyman Plumbers Dillon Ashton explains the issues that cause the sound of water running in your walls.

“It could be as simple as a toilet leak or it could be a leak in one of your water lines,” Dillon says. 

4 Potential Reasons You Hear Running Water in Your Walls

Dillon outlines 4 possible reasons you’re hearing water running through your walls, even when no taps or faucets are on:

1. An undetected dripping faucet
2. A leaky toilet
3. A hot water pipe leak
4. A water line leak

These issues are listed in order of increasing severity. Dillon suggests triaging by looking for the simplest reason first. It’s the best way to identify the problem and save money at the same time. (Why look for a leaky pipe underground when it’s just a toilet problem?)

An undetected dripping faucet

First, go around your home and check every faucet: sinks, showers, tubs, utility sinks, etc. 

Ensure every faucet is completely shut off. Then, wait to see if the sound of running water stops. If it does, you’ve fixed the problem without calling a plumber.

A leaky toilet

When our plumbers diagnose the sound of water running in your home’s walls, the first place they normally check is the toilets.

“A toilet somewhere in the home could be constantly filling up,” Dillon explains. “We do a dye test in the tank to see if toilets are leaking.”

Dye is added to your toilet tank. If the color appears in your bowl, it means you have a toilet leak. 

A leaky toilet is a simple fix, but do it fast: one of our customers recently had a $700 water bill due to a toilet leak!

Toilet won’t stop running? Get fast answers and repair options in our quick guide. 

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A hot water pipe leak

If your toilets aren’t leaking, our next stop is your water meter to determine the current flow rate.

Then, we turn off your water heater and measure the flow rate before and after we do so.

“If we turn your water heater off and the sound stops, then we know your leak is on the hot water side,” he says.

A water line leak

If the sound of running water continues after the faucets and toilets are checked, and the water heater is shut off, there’s a deeper leak issue at hand. 

“If the sound continues after we shut off the water heater, then we know your leak is cold water,” Dillon concludes.

This leak is generally located in your main water line or the branch line connecting your water main to a specific section of the house.

We Diagnosed the Issue: Now, Let’s Find It.

“The next step is to perform an in-depth sound leak location to determine what is actively leaking,” Dillon says.

Acoustic leak detection is used to detect leaks in pressurized systems like your home’s main water line. When water escapes from your pipes through a leak, it emits specific acoustic signals. 

We use highly-sensitive microphones to pick up these sound waves, detect the source of your leak and pinpoint its precise location.

We may also suggest a main line camera inspection for visual confirmation of your leak’s location.

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More Symptoms to Help Diagnose and Locate Your Leak

The more upfront information you provide a local plumber, the easier (and quicker) it becomes to diagnose the leak in your plumbing.

Besides the sound of running water in your walls, here are some common symptoms associated with specific leak locations in your home.

10 warning signs of an underground water pipe leak

1. Fast-moving water meter.
2. Increased water bill.
3. Decreased indoor water pressure.
4. Wet spots in your lawn.
5. Unusually green lawn spaces.
6. Flooding around sprinkler heads.
7. Cracked pavement or driveway.
8. Sewage smell in your yard.
9. Foundation cracks.
10. Dirt in your indoor water supply.

Stop leaks no matter where you are. An automatic water shut off valve detects irregular water use, shuts off the water supply and alerts you of the issue. You’ll stop leaks before you know you have them, and get insurance discounts to boot!

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6 warning signs of a hot water pipe leak

1. Warm spots on floor.
2. Mold and mildew on the floor or walls.
3. Cracks in slab foundation or walls.
4. Musty odors in floor or walls.
5. Ceiling stains.
6. Mold or mildew.

6 warning signs of a toilet leak (fresh water)

1. Your toilet’s leaking at the base.
2. There’s water pooling around the toilet.
3. There’s water above the overflow line.
4. Your toilet won’t stop running.
5. Your toilet’s noisy after flushing.
6. Your bowl fills slowly after flushing.

Call Mother for Home Leak Detection Services in Dallas

Don’t let the sound of running water in your walls keep you up at night, or send next month’s water bill skyrocketing. Use our list of additional symptoms to narrow down the possible cause of the issue, then call your trusted plumber to locate the problem.

Dallas homeowners trust Mother Modern Plumbing for fast, accurate water line, hot water pipe and toilet leak detection services. Our team brings nearly a century of local plumbing expertise to every appointment.

Call Mother 7 days a week for prompt scheduling, and benefit from our advanced leak detection services. We’ll put an end to the noise and restore your peace of mind.

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