Finding a leak inside a wall, under a floor or in a slab, using meter readings, moisture mapping and a thermal camera.
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Hidden water leak detection locates a leak that is not visible, such as one inside a wall, under a floor or beneath a slab. It combines a meter test, moisture readings and a thermal camera to narrow the source before any opening is made. Anchorage Water Damage Restoration answers calls at any hour and sends a crew as soon as one is free.
A leak that can be seen is a repair problem. A leak that cannot be seen is a detection problem, and it is the kind that does the most damage, because water reaches framing, insulation and subfloor for a long time before anything shows on the surface. The first sign is often a bill that has risen without any change in use, a soft spot in the floor, a musty smell or a damp patch that comes and goes with the weather.
A hidden leak leaves evidence in more than one place. The water meter keeps turning when every fixture in the house is off. A damp patch appears on a wall or a floor, often at a point below or beside the source. A thermal camera shows a cool or damp area in a wall where the water is cooling the material, and a moisture meter confirms the moisture inside. Together these point to a place to open, rather than a guess.
Do not start opening walls or floors until the leak has been located, because a random opening can cut a live line, expose wiring or make the leak worse. Record the meter reading, note the time and the places where the damp appears, and keep the house's water use down while the search is made. Call the line and say that the leak is hidden, so the crew arrives with the right equipment.
Do not open a wall or floor where you think a line runs until the power and the water have been checked, because a live wire or a pressurised line can be cut. Do not use a gas-powered device or an open flame to dry a wall during the search. Keep the house's water use down during the test, and do not run the pressure test yourself on a line you do not understand.
Take a reading with every fixture off, wait an hour and take another. Note whether the reading changes, and whether the change happens with the water heater or with an appliance running. The record gives the crew a baseline before it starts, and it shows whether the leak is continuous or only under some conditions.
The technician walks the suspected area and takes moisture readings on a grid. A thermal camera is used to find areas that are cooler or warmer than the surrounding surface, which can show water moving or cooling in a wall or under a floor. The map is compared against the layout of the pipes and the framing.
Where the source is on a line that can be isolated, the crew tests the line under pressure with the water off elsewhere. A drop in the test gauge shows that the line is losing water, and a section-by-section test narrows where the leak sits. Where a line is buried, the test is taken at the closest accessible point.
Once the readings point to a place, a small access point is opened in the wall or floor, sized to see the pipe and the wet material. The leak is confirmed, photographed and recorded. The opening is kept as small as possible, and it is repaired or closed once the plumber has finished the repair.
The crew writes down where the leak is, how long it appears to have run, what material is wet and what has to be dried. The leak is repaired by a plumber. The crew's record is passed to the plumber and the insurer, so the repair and any claim are based on the same evidence.
Close every fixture and appliance that uses water, including the toilets and the water heater, then read the meter. If the reading still changes over an hour, something is using water. Repeat the test at a different time of day, because a fill cycle or a dishwasher can explain a small change.
Check the toilets by putting a few drops of food colouring in the tank and waiting, because a toilet that leaks into the bowl is one of the most common hidden leaks. The water heater can also be a cause, so note whether the change happens when the heater is heating.
If the meter still turns with every fixture off, the leak is at or beyond the meter, or it is inside the house on a line that is not shut off. The crew uses the meter reading and the layout of the house to decide which.
No. A thermal camera shows temperature differences, which are caused by water moving or cooling a material, and it can miss a leak in a material that is already dry or when the surfaces are at the same temperature. It is one tool among several and is confirmed by a moisture meter or a test.
The camera is most useful when there is a clear temperature difference between the water and the surroundings, such as in a cold morning after a warm night, or when the heating is turned off. Its images are checked against the moisture readings before a decision is made.
A camera image that shows a warm or cool patch is not proof of a leak on its own. The crew confirms the location with a meter and, where needed, a small opening, and it says so in the record.
Water moves through framing, insulation and the floor structure, and it often surfaces below or beside the leak. A damp patch on a wall can be from a line several feet away, and a stain on a ceiling can be from a leak in the floor above. The path has to be traced rather than assumed from the stain.
Water follows gravity and the lowest route, so a leak in a wall often shows at the bottom of the wall or at the floor line. A leak under a slab can show at a cracked joint some distance from the source, where the water has found a path up.
The crew compares the readings across the area and draws the path on the floor plan. The path is more useful than the stain, because it points to the source.
A search done by opening walls and floors at random can cause more damage than the leak. The method used here opens the smallest access point that the readings support, and it leaves the rest of the house closed until the source is confirmed.
The crew avoids cutting into a wall or floor until the readings show where the leak is likely to be. Where access is needed, it is kept small and marked, and the crew explains where each opening is and why.
The openings are closed or repaired by the trade that does the work. A patch that is made before the drying is complete will trap moisture, so the crew says when a patch can be made.
A pressurised supply line that leaks in a wall is often found by the meter and a pressure test, then confirmed by moisture readings in the cavity. The wet area is usually larger than the leak, because the water runs along the framing before it shows. The crew marks the wall and the cavity area before any opening.
A drain line that leaks under a floor does not show up on the meter, because the water is not under pressure. It is found by the damp patch, the smell and the thermal camera, and it is often confirmed by running water through the drain at a safe point while the floor is read. The crew records the drain's flow and the damp it produces.
A leak under a concrete slab usually shows as a damp patch on the floor, a rise in the meter and a cool area on the thermal image. Confirming it can mean opening the slab, which is a significant job, so the crew tests the lines and maps the moisture first and gives the owner the evidence before any cutting is discussed.
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility supplies the city, Chugiak-Eagle River, Peters Creek, Eklutna and Girdwood. A meter reading that keeps turning with the house shut off points outside the house, and the utility is the first call for any leak on its side of the meter.
A leak that is hidden in a house with a crawl space is often found through the floor, because the crawl space is the one place where the framing is open and can be read. The crew checks the crawl space as part of the search wherever it exists.
Where a hidden leak has to be opened in a finished house in the city or in one of the outlying communities, the owner should ask the plumber and the crew for a written record of where the opening is and what it found. That record is what the insurer and any later trade will need.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Telling a leak on the utility side of the meter from one inside the house, and what to do in each case.
Finding and drying water that reaches under a house with a crawl space, before the floor above gives way.
Air movers and dehumidifiers that dry walls, framing and subfloors to moisture readings, not to appearance.
Water from a washing machine, dishwasher or icemaker that reaches the floor and the room below.
The meter is the usual dividing point between the utility's service line and the house plumbing, but the rule for a particular property depends on the service and the account.
It depends on the size and the position of the leak. A slow leak can waste a small amount each day for months, and a larger one can run much faster. The meter reading over an hour, repeated, is the simplest way to see the rate.
Often it can narrow the search without opening anything, by using the meter, the moisture readings and the thermal camera. Confirming the leak usually needs a small access point, which the crew keeps as small as the readings allow.
Water can travel through the cavity and show on the other side at a lower point. A damp outside wall can also come from ground moisture or a gap in the cladding, and the crew checks each source before it decides on the leak.
A plumber repairs the leak on the house side. If the leak is on the utility side of the meter, the utility repairs it. The crew tells you which party is needed as soon as the location is known.
Whether a policy covers the search and the opening is decided by the policy and the insurer. The crew's record of the readings and the location is the evidence the insurer will ask for.
The crew reports what it tested and what it ruled out, and it records the readings. A search that finds nothing still narrows the field, and the owner is told where the next checks would be made.