A tiny leak can teach patience how expensive waiting becomes.

A slow leak seems to demand nothing. It is small, it can be caught in a bucket, and the fix keeps getting postponed for something more pressing. Meanwhile it works continuously on the floor, the joists, and the wall, and the eventual bill has almost nothing to do with the size of the original leak.

When you find yourself managing a problem rather than fixing it, ask what it is doing while you manage it. Ongoing small damage compounds in ways that a single inspection would reveal.