Leak Detection
We use electronic listening equipment, thermal imaging, and pressure testing to pinpoint the exact location of leaks — behind walls, under concrete slabs, and in ceilings — without unnecessary demolition.
Our Leak Detection Repair Services Include:
Slab leaks are especially common in LA homes built on concrete foundations. These leaks can go unnoticed for months, causing mold growth, foundation damage, and thousands of dollars in water waste. We have 35 years of experience locating and repairing slab leaks efficiently.
Once we locate the leak, we explain your repair options clearly. Sometimes it’s a straightforward fix. Sometimes it requires rerouting a line. We’ll give you the facts so you can make the right decision for your property and budget.
Why Choose E.T. Plumbing?
Leak Detection in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley
A leak rarely announces itself. Long before you see a stain on the ceiling or a puddle under the water heater, water can be tracking quietly behind drywall, under tile, or beneath a concrete slab. By the time the damage is visible, it has often been feeding for weeks. E.T. Plumbing focuses on finding that hidden water early, using electronic and acoustic equipment that pinpoints the source without tearing your home apart to go looking for it.
Slab leaks are a particular concern across this part of Southern California. Many homes in Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, and the surrounding foothill communities sit on slab-on-grade foundations, with copper and galvanized supply lines run directly beneath the concrete. Decades of hard, mineral-heavy water scour the inside of those pipes, and older galvanized and cast-iron systems corrode from the inside out. When a line finally gives way under the slab, the first clue is usually indirect: an unexplained warm patch underfoot, a water heater that never seems to rest, or a bill that jumps for no reason you can name.
Signs You May Have a Hidden Leak
- A water bill that climbs while your usage habits stay the same
- A faint hiss or trickle of water audible with every fixture shut off
- Warm or damp patches on a floor, or unexplained cracks in tile and flooring
- A musty smell, mildew, or discoloration near baseboards and cabinets
- Low water pressure that develops gradually across the house
- A water meter that keeps ticking after everything is shut off
- Mysterious moss, mold, or a lush green patch in an otherwise dry yard
Pinpointing the leak is where the right tools matter. Rather than opening walls or breaking concrete to hunt blindly, we use acoustic listening equipment to trace the hiss of pressurized water, electronic amplification to isolate the exact point of a slab leak, and line-tracing and pressure testing to confirm which run is at fault. That precision means the eventual repair is targeted, whether the answer is a spot fix, a section of re-pipe, or rerouting a line away from the slab entirely.
Early detection is really about limiting damage. A pinhole leak caught this month is a modest repair; the same leak left alone can undermine a foundation, rot subflooring, ruin cabinetry, and invite mold that costs far more to remediate than the plumbing ever would have. Seasonal shifts matter too. Dry summers and sudden winter rains move soil and stress aging joints, so a line that held for years can begin to weep once the ground around it settles or swells.
If your water bill has crept up, you hear water moving inside a quiet house, or a floor feels warm underfoot, it is worth having the source located before it worsens. As a licensed contractor (CSLB #710889) serving the San Gabriel Valley and greater Los Angeles, E.T. Plumbing can trace the problem and explain your options in plain terms. Call (818) 266-0213 to schedule leak detection and get ahead of the damage.