The questions
we hear most.

Common signs include a suddenly higher water bill, the water meter spinning even when every faucet and appliance is off, damp spots on floors, warm flooring that may point to hot water pooling beneath the slab, the sound of running water when nothing is on, loss of water pressure, hot water coming out of the cold tap, or discolored and warped flooring from hidden moisture.

If you notice any of these, shut off the main water valve and check the meter again , if it still moves, you almost certainly have a leak (often under the slab). Professional non-invasive detection can locate the leak before damage spreads.

Persistent sewer or musty odors usually point to one of these: a failed wax ring under the toilet (water leaks out when you flush, or sewer gas escapes), a dry P-trap under a sink, shower, or tub (water evaporates if the fixture hasn’t been used in weeks), a broken or clogged waste vent pipe in the wall, or a cracked or separated drain line under the floor.

Vent and drain-line problems are the ones most likely to need detection equipment, they’re inside the wall or under the slab, where you can’t see them.

If there’s no actual gas leak, the most common hidden culprit is a leak on the hot-water side of your plumbing. The water heater runs nonstop trying to keep up with the constant water loss, burning extra gas (or electricity) the whole time.

A slab leak on the hot line can also make floor tile or wood feel warm where hot water pools beneath the slab. Check your water bill alongside the energy bill, they often rise together when a hot-water leak is the cause.

Almost always a worn-out flapper or a faulty fill valve inside the tank. The flapper lets water slowly leak from the tank into the bowl, so the fill valve keeps turning on to top it off, sometimes loudly, sometimes silently.

Lift the tank lid and look. If the water level is dropping when nothing is being used, or you hear a constant hiss, that’s almost certainly it. Both parts are inexpensive and replaceable, but a chronically running toilet is a quiet contributor to a high water bill.

Several possibilities: a main water line leak between the meter and the house, a slab leak under the foundation working its way forward, an irrigation leak (pressure side before the valves, a stuck-open valve, or a break on the low-pressure side), or, if you have a swimming pool, water escaping the pool that travels through soil or deck drains and exits at the street drain.

Turn things off one by one, house water, then irrigation, then pool, and note when the flow stops. That alone narrows it down for the technician before they arrive.

Could be a leak in the pressurized plumbing system, water is literally escaping before it reaches your fixtures.

Other common causes: old galvanized pipes clogged with rust and minerals, a failing pressure-reducing valve (PRV) not allowing enough flow, or a partially closed shut-off valve somewhere in the line. A quick test: if pressure is low everywhere inside but normal at an outside hose bib, the problem is most likely inside the house.

Excess moisture can come from poor ventilation (long showers, cooking, many people breathing), groundwater or rainwater getting past moisture barriers, hidden plumbing leaks or drain-line leaks, or a hot-water slab leak, hot water under the slab turns to steam and rises into the house.

If you’ve ruled out lifestyle factors and you still see condensation on the inside of windows, or you smell that persistent musty note, a concealed leak is very likely. The slab-leak version of this often arrives with warm flooring that gives us a starting area; the drain-line version often arrives with a smell.

Pools lose water for many reasons. Normal evaporation is about ¼ inch in 24 hours, more in hot, windy, or low-humidity weather. Beyond that, leaks can occur in the plumbing lines, the tile line, the lights, the skimmer throat, cracks in the plaster or shell, or around any fitting.

A bucket test separates normal evaporation loss from a likely leak. If the pool is losing more than evaporation accounts for, a pool leak test finds whether the source is plumbing, fittings, shell, lights, skimmer throat, or another pool component.

In a two-story home, anything on the second floor can leak downward: supply lines, drain lines, shower pans and valves, tub enclosures, toilet wax rings, AC condensate lines in the attic.

Start by checking the room directly above the wet spot. But know this: water travels surprisingly far along joists and subfloor before it shows up below, so the wet patch on the ceiling is rarely directly under the source. Tracing the path back is what detection equipment is for.