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Serving Mildenhall and the Lark valley

Leak detection in Mildenhall for homes, lets and farms

In Mildenhall, the first sign is often an Anglian Water letter, a meter turning in an empty let, or a farm bill that has jumped. Our engineer Charlie then finds the leaking pipe.

Empty lets tested between tenants

Field pipes to troughs traced

Reports for landlords and insurers

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Lines open 8am to 8pm, every day.

Mildenhall is a market town on the River Lark, with RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath close by. Many homes in and around the town are let, and tenants come and go. A leak can begin while a house stands empty and only come to light at the next check-in.

Beyond the old centre, estates of concrete-floored houses have plastic supply pipes that leak quietly. Out in the farmland, pipes cross fields to troughs, yards and outbuildings. A house, a let and a farm each need a different first test, so we ask about the property first.

Painted Victorian houses on a seafront road above a shingle beach, typical of the Suffolk coast Brick family homes with gravel drives in a cul-de-sac on the edge of a market town, typical of Suffolk

Typical Mildenhall jobs

Meter turning in a rented semi between tenants

The property

A semi on one of the town's estates, empty between lets. The kitchen has a concrete floor, with the cold pipe crossing beneath it to the sink.

The problem

At check-out, the letting agent saw the meter dial moving with nothing in use. There was no stain or wet patch, and the next tenant was due soon.

How we found it

Turning off the stop tap stilled the dial, so the leak was indoors. Tracer gas fed into the kitchen supply surfaced by the back door, and the ground microphone agreed.

The outcome

Once the visit was paid, the landlord had the report, with the spot marked and photographed. The repair, priced separately, was done before the new tenant arrived.

Farm water bill jump on the pipe to the troughs

The property

A farm outside town, one roadside meter feeding the house, the yard and troughs in three fields. Nobody was sure where some field lines ran.

The problem

The bill had jumped, yet every trough and tap looked normal, and walking the fields turned up no wet ground.

How we found it

The meter stopped only when the middle field line was shut off, and a pressure test confirmed it was leaking. The ground microphone found the point; tracer gas agreed.

The outcome

We pegged the spot and photographed it against the hedge line, so the farmer dug one hole instead of a trench across the field.

Phone call first, then the meter

1

Ring with the basics

Tell us whether anyone lives there, where the meter and stop tap seem to be, and whether lines run out to buildings or fields. Mention any water company letter.

2

Meter, stop tap and valves

Two readings, stop tap open and then closed, show whether water is escaping inside or out. On a farm, valves are shut one by one to find the leaking line.

3

Tracing the leaking line

We follow the leaking pipe from above until a different test backs up the first, then mark it. Photographs go into the written report for your agent or insurer.

Who calls us from Mildenhall

Owners with an Anglian Water letter

The letter means the meter is counting water you are not using. We work out whether it is escaping indoors or under the ground outside, then trace that pipe.

Landlords and agents between tenants

An empty house is the cleanest test going: nothing should be drawing water. If the meter moves at check-out, ring us and say who holds the keys.

Farms and smallholdings on long pipes

Pipes to troughs and outbuildings can cross several fields. Tell us where the valves are and where each line roughly goes; we close them off in turn.

Methods we use most in Mildenhall

Tracer gas

Plastic pipes under concrete floors and paths are often too quiet to hear. Pushed into the pipe, a hydrogen and nitrogen mix finds the split and drifts up to our detector.

Acoustic listening

The hiss of escaping water travels well along older metal pipe and long field lines. We walk the ground microphone along the route, stopping often, and mark where it peaks.

Pressure testing

Closing a line off and watching a gauge shows whether that line leaks. On a farm with several pipes, it tells us which one to walk before tracing begins.

Anglian Water and the pipe beyond your meter

Anglian Water supplies Mildenhall and looks after its own pipes up to the meter or boundary. Past that point, the pipe is normally yours, field lines included. Each company runs its own leak policy, and some allow for water lost once you fix a leak on your side. Ask Anglian Water, and keep our report with the repair invoice.

Two halves of a claim

A claim often has two halves: finding and reaching the leak, which some policies call trace and access, and putting right the damage. Check your wording on each; your insurer may want the work cleared with it before anything is opened. Our report lists the location, methods, readings and photographs; payment for the visit releases it.

Near Mildenhall

Beyond Mildenhall, our leak detection in Suffolk takes in Lakenheath and Brandon to the north, Newmarket to the south-west and Bury St Edmunds to the south-east. Soham and Burwell lie over the Cambridgeshire border.

A pink colour-washed thatched cottage with a picket fence and cottage garden, typical of a Suffolk village

Common questions in Mildenhall

It means the meter has recorded water passing beyond the company’s pipe. Close your stop tap: if the meter stops, check indoors for a dripping tap or running toilet; if not, the buried pipe is leaking and we can trace it.

Yes, ideally before the next tenant moves in. Whoever opens up needs to know where the boiler, meter and stop tap are. Say who is paying; if that person cannot be there on the day, payment may be taken first.

Usually. Each line is closed in turn to find the leaking one, which we then walk with the ground microphone, adding tracer gas if it is quiet. No find, no fee on home water leaks does not cover businesses; full conditions are on our terms page.

No. If you can smell gas, ring the gas emergency service first. We trace leaks on gas pipework only once the gas emergency service has made it safe, with tracer gas on the isolated pipe, and mark the point for a gas engineer to repair.

Visits are usually booked within 24 to 48 hours, and our lines are open 8am to 8pm, every day. When you ring, have a meter reading to hand and say whether anyone will be at the property on the day.

Meter moving in Mildenhall?

Ring 07700 102 008 between 8am and 8pm. Visits are usually booked within 24 to 48 hours.