Water damage may be caused by water leaking from pipes. These leaks may be visible and can easily be detected. However, there are some water leaks that are hidden from view. You can determine if you have a water leak inside the house by doing the following steps:

Turn off all your appliances that use water,

Go to where your water meter is and take note of the water meter readings,

Leave the appliances turned off for about an hour,

Return to check if the meter reading has changed.

If the reading on the water meter changed even when all the appliances are turned off, then you have a leak for sure. The next thing to do now is to thoroughly check all the appliances that use water and check all the water supply lines.

In the kitchen, check to see if the water supply line that goes to the dishwasher is leaking. If you can see standing water near the base of the dishwasher, then you have a leak and this should immediately be fixed to prevent water damage. Another way of knowing if you have a leak is to check if the materials around the dishwasher are warped or discolored in any way.

Another cause of water damage in the kitchen is through the refrigerator. If the refrigerator has a built in ice maker that is supplied with water through a line, then the lines might be leaking. Freezing water expands and may cause the water line to loosen. To prevent water damage, make sure that the water supply line to the ice maker is connected firmly and is not leaking.

Kitchen sinks may cause water damage. Therefore it is important that you re-caulked around the kitchen sinks often to prevent water from seeping under the sink or on top of the counter. If water is left to seep under the sink, it may cause water damage to the material holding up the sink. If the sink's foundation is made of wood, the wood may rot and the whole sink may eventually collapse.

Water when frozen expands and may burst pipes. You have to make sure that the temperature inside the house is maintained in order to prevent water inside the pipes from freezing. Even if you are away for a couple of days during winter time, you have to make sure that the temperature is above the freezing point.

Tubs may also cause water damage when it overflows. Water may seep through cracks in the grout areas between bathroom floor tiles. In order to prevent water damage in the bathroom, you have to assess and determine if the bathroom needs re-caulking. Re-caulk where the walls meet the bathroom floor and where the walls meet the tub to prevent water from seeping through the bathroom's foundations.