60-minute guarantee · Coupon
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Open 24/7 · 60-minute guarantee
Leak Detection
A stain that keeps growing, a water bill that jumps, a closet that smells musty — hidden leaks rarely show up where they start. We trace the water back to its source with meter checks, pressure tests and moisture readings, so if anything has to be opened, it’s one small hole where the leak actually is.
At your location in 60 minutes or you save $60.
The short answer
If water is dripping through a ceiling or running down a wall right now, shut the closest fixture valve or the main — or have building staff close the riser — and keep away from wet light fixtures. If it’s a slow, hidden leak, mark the edge of the stain with the date and, in a house, check whether the water meter moves with every tap off. Then call us: we test lines and fixtures and take moisture readings to find the source, and you hear the price before anything is opened.
Is this an emergency?
Call now if…
- Water is dripping through a ceiling or a light fixture
- A ceiling is sagging or bulging
- The meter is spinning fast with every tap off
Can usually wait for a scheduled visit
- A stain that’s dry to the touch and hasn’t grown
- A water bill that has crept up over a few months
- A toilet you think is leaking silently into the bowl
Not sure? Call anyway — we’ll tell you honestly.
Do this right now
- If water is coming through now, close the nearest fixture valve or the main, or have the super shut the riser.
- Keep away from any light fixture that’s dripping, and switch that circuit off at the breaker.
- Mark the edge of the stain in pencil with the date and take a photo, so you can see whether it’s growing.
- In a house, turn off every tap and check whether the meter’s leak indicator keeps moving.
Signs you need us
- A ceiling stain that keeps growing, or comes back after painting
- A stain on the ceiling below a bathroom
- A damp or bubbling wall with no pipe in sight
- A musty smell in a closet, sink cabinet or corner
- A water bill that jumps when your use hasn’t changed
- The meter’s leak indicator turning with every tap off
- Running water you can hear when nothing is on
- Warped floorboards or loose tiles around a tub or shower
How we handle the call
- 01
Start with the clues
Where the stain is, when it appears and what sits above it narrow the search — a stain that shows up only after showers points to the shower, not the supply pipes.
- 02
Test the lines
In a house we watch the meter with everything off, then close valves one line at a time and pressure-test sections to see which one is losing water.
- 03
Test the fixtures
We dye-test toilets and run water into shower pans, tubs and drains — up to the overflow where it matters — while someone watches the ceiling below.
- 04
Map the moisture
Moisture meter readings show how far the water has spread inside walls, floors and ceilings, and where it’s wettest.
- 05
Open small, then report
If we need to see inside, we cut one small inspection opening in the right spot, then give you photos, readings and a written account of the source.
Know your building
Hidden leaks in apartments, houses and shops
In an apartment building, the water on your ceiling often isn’t coming from your apartment. It can start at a shower pan, tub overflow or toilet seal in the apartment above, or at a riser in the wall that serves your whole line of apartments — and it can run along joists, slabs and pipe sleeves before it shows. Many apartment buildings also have a single water meter for the whole building, so the meter test that works in a house can’t single out your unit. That’s why we work with the super or building manager to get into the apartment above, test its fixtures and isolate lines instead of guessing.
In co-ops and condos, who is responsible for a repair often depends on where the leak starts — your fixtures, a neighbor’s, or a building riser — and on the building’s own rules, so we write up what we found, with photos and moisture readings, for the board, landlord or insurer. A house usually has its own meter, so watching it with every tap off quickly shows whether water is escaping somewhere — behind a wall, under a floor, or in the basement or crawlspace. In shops, offices and restaurants, a dropped ceiling or a row of kitchen equipment can hide a leak until a stained tile or a puddle gives it away. Wherever it is, wet plaster, drywall and subfloor should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to help prevent mold, so a leak found quickly costs everyone less.
One visit, whole job
Everything covered on the call
- Water meter and leak indicator checks
- Line-by-line isolation and pressure tests
- Moisture readings in walls, floors and ceilings
- Dye tests for silent toilet leaks
- Shower pan and tub overflow tests
- Camera checks of leaking drain lines
- Leaks traced to the apartment above or a riser
- Small, targeted inspection openings
- Written findings and photos for landlords, boards and insurers
Upfront price, every time
What leak detection costs
The price depends on how much testing it takes to pin the leak down. A toilet leak found with a dye tablet, or a drip under a sink that shows once the cabinet is empty, is quick. A leak that appears only when the shower upstairs runs, or one inside a wall that carries several lines, takes longer — meter checks, isolating lines, testing fixtures above and taking moisture readings.
Access matters too: getting into the apartment above or having a riser shut off means working around building staff and house rules. You get the price for finding the leak before we start, and the price for the repair once we know the source — so you decide on each step.
Honest advice
Open a small hole now, or keep watching?
Watching is reasonable when a stain is dry, hasn’t grown in weeks and the meter stays still with everything off — it may be an old leak that was already fixed. Mark its edge, date it and check it again after the fixtures above have been used.
If it’s damp, growing, or comes back after painting, the leak is still running, and waiting usually costs more: water keeps soaking plaster, subfloor and insulation, mold becomes more likely the longer materials stay wet, and the eventual opening gets bigger. Once tests have narrowed down the spot, a small inspection hole is quick to patch — far less work than replacing a ceiling that gave way.
Mistakes that make it worse
- Painting over a stain before the leak is found — it hides the evidence while the leak keeps going
- Opening a big section of wall to have a look — water travels, and the source is often somewhere else
- Re-caulking a tub and calling it fixed — the leak may be in the shower pan, drain or overflow
- Not telling the neighbor above or the super — a leak from upstairs can only be stopped upstairs
Keep it from happening again
- Once a year, put a few drops of food coloring in each toilet tank — color in the bowl without a flush means a leak
- Keep grout and caulk around tubs and showers sound, and redo them when they crack or pull away
- Put battery water alarms under sinks and next to the washer and water heater
- In a house, watch the water bill — a jump with no change in use is often the first sign of a hidden leak
The 60-minute guarantee
The clock starts when our dispatcher confirms your job. If we’re late, $60 comes off your invoice. No forms, no fine-print games. Read the terms
FAQ
Leak Detection questions
Will you have to open my wall or ceiling?
Not always. Toilet, shower pan and under-sink leaks are often found with no opening at all. When the source is inside a wall, we narrow it down first, so the hole is a small one made right where the leak is.
How can I tell if my toilet is leaking?
Put a few drops of food coloring in the tank and don’t flush for about 15 minutes. If color shows up in the bowl, water is leaking past the flapper — usually a quick, simple repair.
There’s a stain on my ceiling under the bathroom upstairs. Is it their leak?
Often, but not always. It can be their shower pan, tub overflow, toilet seal or a supply line — or a riser in the wall that serves the whole line of apartments. We test the fixtures above while watching your ceiling, which usually shows where it’s coming from.
Should I wait until the stain dries before calling?
No — call while it’s wet. A leak that’s running is far easier to trace than one that has dried up, and a stain that dries and comes back usually means a fixture that leaks only when it’s used.
Can low water pressure be a sign of a leak?
It can, if the pressure dropped suddenly and the meter keeps moving with everything off. In older buildings it’s more often corroded pipe, and in a high-rise it may be the building’s booster pump, which the super should know about.
Can you give me something in writing for my landlord, board or insurer?
Yes. You get photos, moisture readings and a written description of where the water came from and what failed, ready to pass on to your landlord, managing agent, board or insurer.
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