What should I do if I find a leak in or around my home?
The short answer
Turn the water off at the stopcock, put a bucket or towels under the leak, and keep water away from electrics — if it's anywhere near a light fitting or socket, turn the power off too. Take a photo, then call a plumber. Don't leave a "small" leak running: water damage compounds quickly, and it's the damage that costs, not the pipe.
The instinct with a slow leak is to put a bowl under it and get to it at the weekend. It's a bad instinct. The pipe itself is usually a modest repair; the ceiling, the floor, the joists and the kitchen units underneath are not.
If you can isolate just the leaking section — many appliances and some bathrooms have their own isolation valve, a small screw-slot valve on the pipe that turns a quarter turn — do that rather than shutting off the whole house. If you can't find one, use the main stopcock.
A leak coming through a ceiling deserves particular respect. A soaked plasterboard ceiling holds a lot of water and it can come down all at once. Get everyone out from under it, and don't be tempted to prod it.
Photograph everything before you clean up. If you end up claiming on your insurance, that photo taken at the messy moment is worth more than any description you can write afterwards.
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