How Leak Detection Services Use Advanced Tools To Quickly Discover Leaking Pipes

If you're unsure why your water bill has suddenly increased, your home may have a water leak. You're often not able to hear or see water leaking from a small pinhole leak, but even very small leaks are capable of wasting a large amount of water — the pipe leaks all day and all night long, which rapidly adds up to create a large water bill at the end of the month. Thankfully, a leak detection specialist can quickly and easily find the source of the water leak in your home. When you call a leak detection service, a technician will be sent to your home with special equipment that allows him or her to pinpoint the exact location of your leaking water pipe. Here's how the advanced equipment used by a leak detection service works together to discover the exact location of the leak in your home's plumbing.

An Electronic Leak Detector Listens to the Pipes in Your Home

One of the tools used to find leaking water pipes is an electronic leak detector. An electronic leak detector is essentially a very powerful directional microphone paired with a sophisticated digital signal processor. All water leaks make noise, even if that noise is too high-pitched or too soft to be heard by the human ear. The technician places the microphone up against the walls and floors of your home and listens to the sounds your pipes are making. The electronic leak detector's digital signal processor analyzes the sounds that the microphone picks up, separating the sounds of a leaking pipe from other ambient noise in your home such as the sound of running appliance motors. The computer in the electronic leak detector notifies the technician about the existence of a potential leak and how far away it is from the detector. By progressively moving the leak detector closer to the source of the leak, a technician can discover the exact location of your leaking pipe.

A Thermoscope Detects Slight Changes in Temperature Caused by a Leaking Pipe

A thermoscope allows a technician to uncover very subtle changes in temperature. When a pipe leaks, no matter if it's a cold water pipe or a hot water pipe, it often affects the temperature of a surrounding area. The thermoscope is used to check all of the pipes in your home, watching for temperature differences that might signify a leaking pipe. A leak detection technician typically uses both an electronic leak detector and a thermoscope together in order to thoroughly check all of the pipes in your home for potential leaks.

A Pipe Camera Confirms the Location of Your Leak

When a technician finds a potential leak, the existence of a leak will typically be confirmed using a pipe camera. The pipe camera is fed through either your sewer line cleanout or a fixture in your home — it allows the technician to visually inspect the inside of your pipe in order to confirm the presence of a leak. This allows you to be absolutely certain that the pipe is leaking before you move forward with repairs.

While you may be able to rent an electronic leak detector, a thermoscope and a pipe camera and attempt to find a leak in your home by yourself, it's better to hire a leak detection service to do the job. They're trained in how to interpret the results from a leak detector and a thermoscope, allowing them to differentiate between a leaking pipe and a false positive. If you believe that your home's plumbing has a water leak, contact a leak detection service, like Calhoun Plumbing, and have them pinpoint the exact location of the leak in your home so that repairs can be made.

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