ChrisIB Â Â 11 #1 Posted March 2, 2020 I am after some advice on what is probably a hidden water leak in my house. There has been a damp musty smell for months (the house has little in it) It has a water meter ( shows litres) so I checked it before going away for a few days, it hadn't moved when I got back, so no apparent leak on the inbound side. Â Next, as I have an electric shower and can do basic plumbing, I put in a lever valve from the hot water tank, to take the hot water pipes out of it. There was a 20% decrease in the smell. Â I also took up a couple of the floorboards to check if the was any damp in the void but it seems fine. Â So I reckon it must be in the waste piping or the central heating pipes. Any recommends or tips? Is my option now to get a plumber to troubleshoot it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
kevvy   12 #2 Posted March 2, 2020 Is the house lived in ,? Do you have the Central Heating on ? If not lived in and a minimum of heating it could be cold and damp. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
smithy266   21 #3 Posted March 2, 2020 Damp musty smell and no apparent water leak? Sounds like you need to talk to Envirovent, which sorted our similar-sounding problem... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ChrisIB   11 #4 Posted March 2, 2020 Thanks for the replies. Yep, it is lived in with heating but there is little in the way of carpets and so on that might be a cause (replaced with laminate flooring).  Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
*Wallace*   333 #5 Posted March 2, 2020 Try a dehumidifier if there’s no apparent leaks it could be that simple. Decent ones at screwfix. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
spider1   11 #6 Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) You aint never going to get a warm comfortouble house with laminate horrible stuff / Wait till weather changes see if it gets any better .  Condensation makes house smell with laminate floors . . Doubt its wastes pipes or a leak as it would show check toilet area for leaks /is it a back to wall toilet  Edited March 2, 2020 by spider1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
steve68   66 #7 Posted March 3, 2020 I had  similar issues at my brick industrial unit, I found using a cheap damp meter very helpful in narrowing the area it came from, turned out to be failed damp course in a small section of an out side wall that was obscured by some shelving.     Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Pettytom   1 #8 Posted March 3, 2020 Are your gutters and downpipes ok? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
geared   302 #9 Posted March 3, 2020 On 02/03/2020 at 13:01, ChrisIB said:  So I reckon it must be in the waste piping or the central heating pipes. Any recommends or tips? Is my option now to get a plumber to troubleshoot it?  If it's leaking out the central heating pipes you'd notice a drop in the boiler pressure (unless it's an older open-vent system) On those you can usually close a valve to stop the flow into the header tank, then you just watch that and see if the level drops. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ChrisIB Â Â 11 #10 Posted March 3, 2020 Thanks for the suggestions. Yep, have checked the toilet, gutters were done couple of months ago and have a dehumidifier (which helps but just in single room). Will try the header tank cut off, and if that is ok the damp meter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...