A plumbing leak is frustrating, especially when you can't find the source of the leak. Your power bill may be shockingly high, or the excess moisture might cause mold and foul odors in your home. If you suspect you have a plumbing leak, call a plumber to verify the leak and track it down. Here's how this might be done.

Verify the Leak at the Water Meter

When all the water in your home is turned off, the meter shouldn't move. If the water in your home is off and the water meter is turning, this shows there's a leak somewhere. If you don't see water dripping from a pipe or your toilet tank, the leak is probably hidden behind a wall or under a slab.

A slab leak can be tricky to find since it's covered by concrete and flooring. However, with the right tools, a plumber can find a leak anywhere in your home.

Scan With a Thermal Camera

Your plumber might use a thermal camera to find a hidden plumbing leak. The camera detects temperature differences and creates a colorful image that lets the plumber find wet areas. A leak from a hot water pipe might show up as red or yellow, which means it's hotter than the surrounding area. A leak from a cold water pipe might be on the blue scale, which means the area is cooler than the rest of the wall or floor.

The temperature differences can be detected through walls and floors, and that makes a thermal camera a useful tool for finding a plumbing leak. Using this tool, the entire wet area can be found so that you and your plumber can know the extent of water damage. However, it may not be possible to pinpoint the exact spot of the leak with a thermal camera alone.

Find the Leak With an Acoustic Device

Your plumber will try to find the exact spot where water is spewing out so they can minimize the damage to your wall or floor. Without the use of leak-detection equipment, your plumber might have to dig up your floor or open the wall just to look around for the leak.

An acoustic leak detection device can help your plumber find the leak using sound. The plumber places the device on the floor and moves it around while listening to the sounds the device picks up. As the device moves closer to the leak, the sound changes. By following the sound changes, the plumber is led to the exact spot where water is spewing from the pipe.

By knowing exactly where the leak is located, the plumber knows precisely where to start digging. This keeps the disruption to your home down and prevents unnecessary expenses.

Visualize the Leak With a Camera

Your plumber may also use a borescope camera to pinpoint a pipe leak. Once the location of the leak has been found, the plumber can use a borescope camera to visualize the pipe and get information about the leak. The borescope camera is on a long, flexible cable. It's small, so it can fit in tight spaces to look at a pipe.

The plumber may need to drill a hole in the wall or floor to insert the camera, but the information the camera supplies is helpful and may save unnecessary digging. The camera sends back a video of the pipe, so the plumber knows why the pipe is leaking and the type of repairs that are needed.

If you think your home has a plumbing leak, give Complete Plumbing a call. We'll verify whether a plumbing leak is present on your property and find the source of the leak even if it's under the ground or concrete slab. Once the leak is found, we'll repair the problem, so that any water damages can be repaired and your water bills return to normal.