Plumbing fears and water leaks

[falcon89]

Hey,

So I'm going to try and keep this brief and summarise how I got to where I am now.

About 18 months ago I could hear a running water sound coming from somewhere in my flat late at night. I naturally rang good old Dad (who is very knowledgeable about such things) He assured me that it was probably just the tank refilling. So I went to bed a little concerned but trusting. The next day I awoke to water pouring down my walls in my lounge. It was apparent it was coming from my neighbours above. Thankfully there wasn't a lot of damaged caused and the leak was discovered early.

It did mean however I have battled with my brain every night since then, to get over it and believe it won't happen again. I lay in bed listening out for every little noise and question it. It doesn't help that my neighbours are noisy also and this is an added stress.

Fast forward to the last few weeks (sorry please bare with). I come home one evening turn on the light in my bathroom and water starts dripping from my extractor fan and my ceiling is wet. Here we go again!!, it is also late at night again when i discover this. Long story short the top floor flat had a 6 year slow leak which turned into a catastrophic one! Making its way down three floors to my ground floor flat.

Since these two situations I've become so paranoid about checking my pipes/plumbing. Oh I didn't mention either my toilet used to leak too Worrying something will burst or leak either in my property or the properties above. My sink tap recently developed a drip and I lost my s**t over it. I also simply replaced a shower head the other day and now the hose drips slightly I couldn't sleep till 2am worrying about it! I have bumpy floorboards in places too which I also obsess over the fact it could be because of water.

I've also developed although maybe coincidently a need to pee loads before going to bed, I'm talking the urge to go about 6x before falling asleep!

I feel like I look insane to everyone else. But it's really getting me down, ruining my quality of life. I never relax in my home in the evenings now, getting little sleep. The feeling is so bad I'm considering selling my home. I think more than anything it's the feeling of not being able to control such things. I have no control over my neighbours plumbing, nor do I have access to out of sight pipes.

I really don't know what the answer is or even what to classify my feelings as. OCD? depression? anxiety? I’m quite a stress head by nature but this is a different level.

Any feedback/advice or anyone else who has experienced this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Baheid]

I too suffer from the same problem as you. I have lived in 6 houses in my lifetime and 5 of them had major water leaks or plumbing problems.

At the present time there are water leaks from three radiators in my home. The hot water cylinder is large and complicated and I have a horrible sick feeling that one day it will burst or explode with pressure.
My anxiety increases as I try to get a local plumber quickly to fix things, but they are either too busy with work or don't call back.

I often go around searching for leaks and it ruins a good night's sleep. The rational side of me says I am insured against the worst effects of leaks, including damage, etc. However I am sick with worry that something, some time, will result in water escaping into my house. The problem is definitely getting worse as I get older and any help or advice is much appreciated. You are not alone...

[NJ-Leaks]

I have a very similar issue. I have had multiple leaks in my carpeted basement where my water main comes in. I had a new plumber replace much of the impacted piping last week, but I still fear it will leak again, as it has happened 3 times already. The concern is driving me crazy.

[Brynton]

Hi, I have just come across this and have exactly the same issue - did you ever get any help with it?

Hey,

So I'm going to try and keep this brief and summarise how I got to where I am now.

About 18 months ago I could hear a running water sound coming from somewhere in my flat late at night. I naturally rang good old Dad (who is very knowledgeable about such things) He assured me that it was probably just the tank refilling. So I went to bed a little concerned but trusting. The next day I awoke to water pouring down my walls in my lounge. It was apparent it was coming from my neighbours above. Thankfully there wasn't a lot of damaged caused and the leak was discovered early.

It did mean however I have battled with my brain every night since then, to get over it and believe it won't happen again. I lay in bed listening out for every little noise and question it. It doesn't help that my neighbours are noisy also and this is an added stress.

Fast forward to the last few weeks (sorry please bare with). I come home one evening turn on the light in my bathroom and water starts dripping from my extractor fan and my ceiling is wet. Here we go again!!, it is also late at night again when i discover this. Long story short the top floor flat had a 6 year slow leak which turned into a catastrophic one! Making its way down three floors to my ground floor flat.

Since these two situations I've become so paranoid about checking my pipes/plumbing. Oh I didn't mention either my toilet used to leak too Worrying something will burst or leak either in my property or the properties above. My sink tap recently developed a drip and I lost my s**t over it. I also simply replaced a shower head the other day and now the hose drips slightly I couldn't sleep till 2am worrying about it! I have bumpy floorboards in places too which I also obsess over the fact it could be because of water.

I've also developed although maybe coincidently a need to pee loads before going to bed, I'm talking the urge to go about 6x before falling asleep!

I feel like I look insane to everyone else. But it's really getting me down, ruining my quality of life. I never relax in my home in the evenings now, getting little sleep. The feeling is so bad I'm considering selling my home. I think more than anything it's the feeling of not being able to control such things. I have no control over my neighbours plumbing, nor do I have access to out of sight pipes.

I really don't know what the answer is or even what to classify my feelings as. OCD? depression? anxiety? I’m quite a stress head by nature but this is a different level.

Any feedback/advice or anyone else who has experienced this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks