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Water Leak Detection Phoenix AZ

Do you need Water Leak Detection in Phoenix? From slab leak detection to water line repairs, we can handle all of your leak detection needs. Call us now…
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"Not only are we going to fix your plumbing issue, but we will deliver the best service imaginable and take care of you, your property and help save you money."
- Chris Reid

Water Leak Detection Phoenix & Water Line Repair

If received a high water bill, or can hear water running for no apparent reason, then you may have a hidden leak underground on your property. Most homes in Phoenix AZ have a majority of their plumbing under the concrete slab that the dwelling is built on. Fortunately, we can detect these leaks with great accuracy, and offer minimally invasive repair solutions.

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How does a leak detector find leaks?

The quick & simple answer is that it depends on what symptom you’re experiencing. After a site visit, we work to determine where in the system your leak may exist. Once determined, we decide on what method to use to find the leak.

The equipment used to detect your leak depends on if excavation to repair the leak is to be performed, or if the endpoints of a water line must be identified in order to replace it by rerouting it entirely. Acoustic equipment and thermal imaging equipment is great for pinpointing underground leaks. Oftentimes, however, replacing a water line is less invasive, while the necessary leak detection and plumbing work is cheaper. Of course, replacing a water line that has already shown that it is aging may provide far more peace of mind than simply patching it.

Water Line Repair

Once the source of your leak is confirmed, then we will provide you with a free repair quote. All options will be discussed in depth, allowing you to decide which one best fits your budget and long-term plans with your home.

Advanced leak detection equipment is critical when diagnosing an underground leak. This takes the "guesswork" out of the process.

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24/7 Emergency Leak Detection & Repair Plumber in Phoenix

If you have a leak in Phoenix or surrounding areas, we can help. Give us a call at 602-560-7778 to be connected with our on-call emergency plumbers.

Examples of types of leaks that we detect and repair in Phoenix often:

  • Underground leaks outside – These leaks include the main water line that runs from your meter to your house, as well as any irrigation or swimming pool water lines.
  • Leaks under concrete slabs – These types of leaks are usually repaired by rerouting the underground line overhead with a more modern and resilient material called PEX. Sometimes, however, such as when the leaking water line supplies water to a kitchen island sink, excavation through the concrete slab is unavoidable.
  • Faulty water softener – Occasionally, we are called to investigate the reason for a high water bill, and discover that a faulty water softener is continuously discharging water through its regeneration discharge tube. This one is not common, but we know to check for this, as well as a few other rare scenarios during every leak detection assignment. Our experience will ensure thoroughness while working in your home!

If you suspect a leak, do not ignore it. Water leaking under your slab may not be very noticeable now, but water could spontaneously surface through fine cracks in your home's slab very rapidly (including in the middle of the night), or worse, could be eroding away soil under your home's foundation.

Why more people choose Plumbers of Phoenix to detect their leak

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Leak detection is not an exact science, but our experience allows us to approach the process logically. There are often times not just one repair option available, but we review all options with you, helping you decide which solution makes the most sense based on your budget and long-term plans with your home.

We have vast experience detecting leaks to accompany the use of our wide range of equipment. It does not matter how complex your property's plumbing system is, or how far out of reach your leak is, we can fix it. After we confirm that a leak is present on your property, we are guaranteed to provide you with a solution, or our leak detection services are free!

Water leaking under your home will not just cost you money on your water bill. If left neglected, water can surface, causing damage, or even erode away soil from under your home's foundation.  Water can leak from any part of your home's pressurized water system between the water meter and any fixture inside of your home or on your outdoor property. Locating and repair your leak promptly will:

  • Avoid foundation compromise
  • Avoid sewer main breaks
  • Avoid invasive excavation
  • Avoid mold growth
  • Minimize damage to your property
  • Reduce legal liability
  • Minimize or avoid insurance claims
  • Minimize risk of contamination.

Call us Today

Call Plumbers of Phoenix today to schedule leak detection, or if you have any questions regarding the process or pricing for various repairs.

Did you just receive a high water bill? Do you want to figure out where the leak is today? Continue reading for instructions on isolating your mysterious leak!

Getting an expensive water bill can be very frustrating, especially when you had no idea that you had a water leak in your home. The most common causes for a high water bill are running toilets, leaking main water services, irrigation and swimming pool leaks, and slab leaks. Today, we are going to share with you the first steps that we take to narrow down where mysterious leaks are coming from.

Step 1: Confirming that a leak is currently present

Go out to the sidewalk in front of your home and locate your water meter box. It should look similar to the water meter box pictured in (Figure 1).

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Figure 1 - Water Meter Box

Next, remove the lid to the box to uncover the water meter, as shown in (Figure 2).

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Figure 2 - Water Meter

Most homes in Phoenix have a digital water meter, which is great for figuring out exactly how bad a leak is in real time! These water meters automatically cycle through several different readings, including one that provides the current gallons per minute of water passing through the water meter. If you have an analog water meter, then you should look for a small, blue triangle or a small, red gear (your analog water meter should have one or the other). This small component will rotate when water is passing through the water meter. Make sure no one in your home is running any water. Make sure your dishwasher and washing machine are both not running. If no water is currently being consumed, then your water meter should read "0.00 GPM" (0.00 gallons per minute). If any value other than 0.00 is displayed, then water is passing through your water meter. If a reading of "0.00 GPM" is observed, then you may still have a leak, but one is certainly not present in your underground domestic water lines, as these are always pressurized, and are therefore not susceptible to intermittent leaks. If you are so lucky as to have a reading of "0.00 GPM," then call a professional to diagnose further. You may have a toilet that periodically runs. You should listen to these closely for sounds of water running. Certain irrigation issues and swimming pool leaks can also waste water on a non-constant basis. If your water meter displays anything other than "0.00 GPM" on the gallons per minute reading, then proceed to step 2 below.

Step 2: Checking your main water service for a leak

Your main water service is the water line that runs from the water meter, up to your house. Obviously, this water line is underground, so you may be wondering how a homeowner can check it for leaks without any fancy equipment. Well, leak detection equipment is used to pinpoint underground leaks, but you can determine whether or not a leak is present in this water line very easily without any tools at all!

Locate your main water shut-off valve, as seen in (Figure 3). Turn the shut-off valve 90 degrees clockwise, so that the handle is perpendicular to the pipe. Note: If your looks like a wagon wheel, then your home has an old style gate valve, and not a modern ball valve, as shown in this article. Attempting to close a gate valve may result in the valve leaking, so we highly recommend calling a professional to replace it with a ball valve before continuing.

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Figure 3 - Main Water Shut-Off Valve

Open the hose bibb located near your main water shut-off valve to confirm that the valve is working. After several seconds, water should stop running out of the hose bibb. If it does not, then you need your main water shut-off valve replaced before continuing. If your main water shut-off valve is working, then return to your water meter and wait for the gallons per minute reading to appear. If a positive reading is still observed, then you have determined that your main water service is leaking. If your water meter now displays "0.00 GPM," then you have ruled out your main water service is the source of your leak, and you may turn your main water shut-off valve back on and continue to step 3 below.

Step 3: Checking your irrigation and swimming pool plumbing for leaks

If you do not have irrigation or a swimming pool, then you may skip this step. Just like the logic followed in step 2, we are now going to isolate these plumbing lines from the rest of the system. Look for what is called a pressure vacuum breaker, as shown in (Figure 4).

The purpose of this device is to prevent contaminated irrigation or swimming pool water from back-flowing into your home's domestic water supply. Shut it off while you check your water meter once again for the real-time gallons per minute reading, as done is step 2 (confirming that it is shutting off effectively is, unfortunately, not as straight forward as with the main water shut-off valve). If water consumption is no longer taking place, then you have isolated the leak. If water consumption is still taking place, then proceed to step 4, but do not forget to turn these water valves back on after this entire process.

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Figure 4 - Pressure Vacuum Breaker

Step 4: Checking for a hot water "slab leak"

Most homes in Phoenix have water lines that run under their slab all throughout the dwelling. When one of these water lines leak, we call the leak a "slab leak" in the plumbing trade. A hot water slab leak can be ruled out by shutting the water off at the inlet to the hot water heater, as shown in (Figure 5).

Again, the valve should turn 90 degree clockwise, so that the handle is perpendicular to the water pipe. After turning the hot water heater shut-off valve off, turn on the hot water at a faucet in either a bathroom or your kitchen to confirm that, after several seconds, hot water flow discontinues, and then reassess your water meter. If the water meter no longer registers water flow, then you have a hot water slab leak. If, however, water flow is still registering, then you likely have a leaking cold water line under the dwelling of your home.

water heater shut off valve phoenix az
Figure 5 - Water Heater Shut-Off Valve

It is, however, possible that if your rate of water loss is very small, that a toilet is simply running. Even though these were considered in Step 1, very minor water use by a toilet can be rather difficult to detect. The shut-off valves beside each toilet, as shown in (Figure 6), can be shut-off, but this is not recommended, especially if they are original to your home. Hard water minerals can, like older style gate valves, cause these valves to leak upon operating them. A dye test can be performed, but it is more practical at this point call a professional to replace your toilet shut-off valves in order to rule out a running toilet.

toilet shut off valve phoenix az
Figure 6 - Toilet Shut-Off Valve

Conclusion:

Most homes in Phoenix were built with PVC main water lines. PVC becomes brittle due to the chlorine in our water over time. A repair can certainly be made, but if you plan to keep your home long-term, then a replacement of your main water line may be worth considering, especially if it has leaked multiple times over the years. Most homes in Phoenix have fairly short main water lines, so a replacement can be surprisingly inexpensive. Even if the main water line runs under your home's driveway, it can usually be replaced without demolition of any portions of the driveway. The modern piping used, called PEX, is manufactured to outlive all of us!

As for slab leaks, it is usually more cost effective to replace these water lines with PEX. This process involves abandoning the existing, underground, leaking water line, and rerouting it overhead. Doing this avoids invasive excavation through your home's concrete slab, saving you potentially costly flooring reconstruction. Very modern homes are actually being built with overhead PEX water lines! Although patching a leaking underground water line (called a "spot repair" in the plumbing trade) leaves in operation the remaining portions of a water line that has displayed unreliability, it is occasionally necessary to do this, which can be very costly with a post-tension slab, which most homes in Phoenix have been built with. The most common scenario in which a spot repair is unavoidable is when the leaking water line feeds a kitchen island sink. Feeding such a fixture overhead would require installing a beam that runs from the ceiling down to the kitchen island.

In some cases, unnoticed leaks cause water damage in a home. If not caught early, this surfaced moisture can increase to a flood. If you have a slab leak, a plumbing professional should check for unnoticed water damage, so that any water damage that may be present can be remediated before mold growth occurs. When water damage does occur, most homeowners insurance policies will also at least partially cover plumbing repairs.

At Plumbers of Phoenix, we are experts at detecting and repairing wwater leaks of all types, and we are accustomed to facilitating insurance claims on behalf of our customers, so call us at 602-560-7778 today!

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Why do people in Phoenix AZ trust Plumbers of Phoenix as their leak detection company?

-We can discover, maintain, and repair any water leak.

-We are local to Phoenix, and know the codes and construction of the area.

-We find it and fix it!

-We are not only licensed, but certified. This brings you not only an experienced plumber, but an expert with more familiar knowledge in water leaks and repairs.

-We provide one of the lowest prices in town along with rapid responses.

- Our warranty covers parts and labor with little limitations- getting you back in hot water fast and providing you with peace of mind.

Our experienced staff is ready to answer questions and schedule service. Call us now to talk about your options.

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