How do plumbers detect leaks behind walls?

How Do Plumbers Find Hidden Leaks?

Professional plumbers use several specialized techniques and technologies to locate hidden leaks without unnecessary wall damage:

• ✔ Acoustic leak detection: Using sensitive listening equipment to hear the sound of water escaping from pipes.
• ✔ Thermal imaging cameras: Detecting temperature differences that indicate moisture behind walls.
• ✔ Moisture meters: Confirming the presence of water in building materials without damaging them.
• ✔ Video pipe inspection: For some plumbing systems, inserting small cameras to visually inspect pipes from the inside.
• ✔ Pressure testing: Pressurizing isolated sections of plumbing to identify leaks based on pressure drops.
• ✔ Tracer gas detection: For difficult cases, introducing harmless gas into pipes and tracking where it escapes.

These non-invasive methods allow us to pinpoint leak locations with remarkable accuracy before making any cuts in your walls or floors. This precision means minimal property damage, faster repairs, and lower overall costs. Once a leak is located, we can make a small, targeted opening to access and repair the problem area, rather than removing large sections of drywall unnecessarily.