How we locate a water leak that's not visible to the eye

Water leaks in pipes aren’t always visible. Most non visible leaks are so small or so well hidden that without the right detection tools you wouldn’t even know they were there, until you receive a big bill from your municipality or find you have no water. With leak detection services as one of our specialties, we know the best methods and have the right equipment to detect leaks that you can’t even see.

How to Find Underground Plastic Pipes

Step 1: Gather the necessary tools.
Step 2: Make a map of your yard on a paper.
Step 3: Use detectable tape to detect buried pipes.
Step 4: Use a probe rod.
Step 5: Start searching for the best possible location
.Step 6: Dig the ground with a shovel.
Step 7: Use a pipe locator.
A pipe locator is a device for locating underground pipes. Pipe locators work in different ways and their cost can vary significantly. These tools are mainly manufactured and distributed by specialist companies and some hardware stores have pipe locators for their customers or can order them on request. It is also sometimes possible to rent a pipe locator, which may be preferable in environments where the device is only needed for a
project.
The burial of water and gas pipes, as well as conduits for power lines, cables, etc., is very popular in many regions. Burying utility lines has a number of benefits ranging from a reduced risk of storm damage to the desire to create a clean and uncluttered appearance in a yard and around a building. However, the main problem with burying utilities is that they can be difficult to find.

Listening Sticks

While you might not be able to hear the sound of a water leak for yourself, in the pipes the sound of a leak under pressure can travel a fair distance through water in every direction. It’s the sound of a leak that can help us to detect where it is with the right tools.

Our skilled, highly trained and experienced engineers listen in on a number of different places along the pipe and can pinpoint the sound of a leak and locate it. For this, we use a listening stick, which is a device that allows us to listen to what’s going on in the pipes. Listening sticks have been a longstanding tool for leak detection, dating back centuries, and there are many different kinds available. The more traditional types of listening stick consist of a metal or wooden pole with earpieces.

While this isn’t a perfect method for finding leaks, it is very capable of finding smaller leaks. Contrary to what you might believe, the types of leaks that make the most noise are small leaks, meaning that with listening sticks it is easier to find smaller leaks than it is to find bigger ones. While it might take some time to find the leak, this is one of the most tried and true methods of finding leak detection.

At 4 Water Supplies, we use both of these methods and are able to detect even the smallest of leaks. If you are interested in hiring us for our leak detection services, call us for a quote today!