Water Leak Detection Briny Breezes

Where do leaks hide in a manufactured home?

Many homes in a mobile-home community have water supply and drain lines running beneath the floor, behind skirting, rather than inside a concrete slab. That can make some leaks easier to reach than in a slab house, but it also means a slow drip can go unseen until the floor above starts to soften or a smell develops. Connections where the supply enters the home, fittings near the water heater, and drain joints under the bathroom are common places to look.

We do not assume every home is the same. Additions, remodels and replacement homes vary across the community, and we check what is actually in place. When we need to get under a home, we look first for wiring, pests and standing water, and we will not ask you to crawl under there yourself.

Which water problems are not plumbing leaks at all?

Near the ocean and the Intracoastal, water finds its way in from several directions. A roof or window can let in wind-driven rain. An air conditioner condensate line can back up and drip inside a closet or under the home. Condensation can form on cold pipes and ducts in humid weather. Each of those leaves water where it should not be, and none of them is a pressurized supply leak.

We sort those possibilities out early, because the fix is different. Our article on why toilets sweat explains one common condensation problem in Florida bathrooms, and our toilet repair page covers flappers, fill valves and seals.

What should you write down before calling?

Because there is no meter reading to share, your notes do the work a meter would elsewhere. Write down when you first noticed the problem, whether it is constant or only after using a fixture, whether it is worse at night, and where you see or hear water. Note the age of the water heater if you know it, and whether any work was done on the home recently. Photos of stains, drips or wet ground, taken a day or two apart, show whether the problem is growing.

Those details narrow the search quickly. A drip that appears only after showers points to a drain. A sound of running water with every fixture off points to a pressurized line or a toilet. Wet ground outside that never dries points toward the supply line, and possibly toward shared piping that the community needs to look at.

Seasonal residents: what to check before you leave

Briny Breezes has a large winter-resident population, so many homes sit empty for months. A small leak in an empty home can run for weeks before anyone notices, and if your home shares a community meter there is no individual bill spike to warn you. Before leaving for the season, close your home's own shutoff if it has one, and ask a neighbor or a caretaker to look in. When you return, run each faucet, check under sinks and look for stains before assuming everything is fine.