Infrared Moisture Detection in Athens, GA and its Environs
Do you want to avoid leaking pipes and all the problems that come with them? With infrared moisture detection, you can locate leaks before they cause massive damage. Mr. Leak Detection uses advanced technology to detect leaks anywhere in your home no matter the reason they occur.
Even minor leaks can start growing mold in just 24 hours. Left alone, it can cause widespread damage and chronic health complications. Prioritize thermal imaging leak detection to invest in the health and safety of your home and family.
How Infrared Leak Detection Is Used
How do experts use thermal leak detection? The technology uses an infrared camera to scan your home and detect minute changes in your pipe’s heat signatures. Pooling or leaking water can appear both warmer or cooler than normal, but an expert plumber knows what to look for.
Experts can use infrared moisture detection to find leaks in your pipes. When we use the camera, most of your pipes will appear as a consistent color, usually in the yellow to red spectrum.
The camera can pick up a leak the size of a pin, which appears as a slightly different color. Our trained experts know what to look for and no leak goes undetected.
The camera can also identify temperature changes that indicate you have water damage in places you can’t see it. This can help you prevent mold from spreading or the rot from causing further structural damage.
Types of Heat Transfer
Did you know thermal imaging leak detection can find multiple types of heat transfer?
Conduction: Conduction occurs when heat transfers through solids. When your bare feet feel hot when you walk on cement in the summer, you’re experiencing conduction.
Convection: Convection occurs when heat transfers through a liquid. When you set a pot of water on a burner, the heat permeates the water, which then boils.
Radiation: Radiant heat transfer happens when temperature changes travel through the air. Common examples of this include sunlight, the heat from a fire, and microwaves.
The reason experts use thermal imaging for water leaks relies on its ability to detect all three forms of heat transfer.
Where Can Leaks Happen and What Do They Look Like?
When you schedule infrared moisture detection, you’ll see the plumber examine multiple areas of your home. Thermal imaging water leak detection can locate leaks that manifest in the following ways.
Floors
When leaks occur on your floor, the camera will detect a phenomenon called wicking. Water has capillary action, which means it uses the surface tension in tight spaces to travel upward against gravity.
When it comes to water damage emanating from your floor, the camera will detect a long horizontal line with some peaks where that water has begun wicking upward. With a little extra effort, the expert can locate the source of the leak and begin repairs.
Floor pipes most often run beneath the concrete slab in your basement and contain a combination of water delivery pipes and waste pipes. When these pipes burst, a plumber calls it a slab leak. They remain one of the most difficult types of leaks to detect and thus often cause significant damage before traditional methods locate them.
Walls
When a water leak occurs in your walls, the plumbers will identify a distinct pattern that resembles a pyramid. The point of the triangle usually indicates the source of the leak. From there, the water spreads out horizontally as gravity pulls it down.
Wall pipes transport most of the water in your home. Your water supply enters your home near the foundation, to reach the other levels of your home, it must travel through your walls. They also deliver wastewater from throughout your home into the drainage pipes beneath your basement slab.
Ceilings
When thermal imaging water leak detection finds a burst pipe in your ceiling, it won’t see any distinct shape. Plumbers usually describe the image as amorphous, as it can appear as a general blob or unstructured shape.
The ceiling remains the least common location for pipes. However, if you have multiple bathrooms or other plumbing needs on an upper floor, a contractor may find these pipes the most efficient method of transporting the water.
We Use Thermal Cameras for Moisture Detection
How do infrared camera water leak detection services work? While plumbers can use multiple forms of infrared technology for detecting leaks, thermal cameras produce the best results for three reasons.
High Resolution
Resolution refers to the number of pixels on the screen, with a greater concentration creating a higher resolution. The more pixels, the more minute details the operator can detect. No matter the application, the resolution falls into three distinct categories:
Low: Low resolution includes anything under 120 x 160 pixels for a total of 19,600.
Medium: Medium resolution has a maximum area of 320 x 240 with 76,800 pixels total.
High: High resolution has at least 326,400 pixels for an incredible level of detail.
Great Thermal Sensitivity
Thermal sensitivity determines the level of nuance with which the camera can detect temperature differences.
You measure heat sensitivity in milliKelvins, which equals 1/1000th of a degree, which means lower numbers produce more detailed results. The best infrared cameras have a sensitivity rating of 30mk and can detect the most minute difference in temperature variations. Some cameras have a rating of 100mk, and experts use these in industrial applications to detect large-scale temperature shifts.
Manual Adjustment
The best infrared moisture detection allows the operator to manually adjust the range of temperatures they seek. Most water leaks occur between the temperatures of 50 degrees and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. However, allowing for manual adjustment means the plumber can adapt to unique situations without issue.
Benefits of Infrared Leak Detection
When you schedule infrared camera water leak detection services, you receive several benefits for your home or business that traditional detection methods can’t provide.
Inspect Large Areas Quickly
Traditional methods of leak detection progress slowly and only target a specific area based on the educated guess of the plumber. Because infrared moisture detection offers a non-invasive method, the technician can scan your entire home relatively quickly. This saves you money on labor costs and allows you to detect the leak with less disturbance to your daily life.
Non-Invasive
Without the use of infrared technology, the plumber must resort to making an educated guess about the location of the leak. They most often do this by looking for water damage and asking about what signs you’ve experienced, such as backed-up drains or low water pressure.
Once they believe they know the leak’s origin, they have to rip up your wall, floor, or ceiling to confirm the position. With infrared cameras, the expert can simply point the camera at a location and get an immediate reading that doesn’t require physical access to the pipe.
Reliable
An infrared camera doesn’t make mistakes. In the hands of an experienced plumber who knows what the temperature variations mean, you’ll never doubt its ability to find a leak. If you notice any of the following signs you have a leak, the camera will provide you with confirmation:
Water damage: Visible water damage offers the clearest sign you have a hidden leak. You may notice squishy floors, rotting wood, or discoloration on your various surfaces.
Rising water bills: When you have a leak, you’ll use water even if you’re not running your faucets, shower, or appliances. This can raise your utility bills outside the bounds of normal increases.
Unusual sounds: Depending on the severity of your leak, you may notice various sounds inside your walls or floors. For minor leaks, you may hear dripping whereas larger leaks will sound like rushing water.
Foul smells: When you’ve had a leak for some time, you’ll likely smell a musty smell. This can occur either from mold growth or rotting wood.
Low water pressure: When you have a leak, your pipe can’t maintain the level of water pressure you’re accustomed to. If you’ve noticed a difference in your water pressure that won’t go away, schedule an appointment to find a leak.
Drain problems: Clogged and backed-up drains often go hand in hand, as unattended blockages often create leaks. If you notice a clogged drain in addition to other signs of leakage, don’t delay in scheduling help.
Proof of Leak
One benefit of infrared moisture detection includes the evidence it provides that you have a leak. Without knowing the location and severity of the leak, you likely can’t obtain compensation from your insurance. When a plumber obtains definitive evidence of the leak and gives you an estimate about how much fixing it will cost, you have a greater chance of filing a successful insurance claim.
Saves Money
When you prioritize finding leaks with an infrared camera, you save yourself money in the following ways:
Lower labor costs: When you use a thermal camera to detect leaks, the process goes much faster than traditional methods and you only need a single plumber rather than an entire team. Since you pay labor costs by the hour, the faster completion time means you have a lower bill.
Less clean up: Traditional methods of leak detection and repair require ripping holes in your wall or floor. Because it uses a non-invasive technique, you won’t spend additional money patching up these holes or wait several more days while the workers disrupt your daily life.
Fewer repairs: Because thermal cameras quickly and reliably locate leaks, you can deal with them much quicker than normal. This means your home experiences less water damage and plumbing problems and you won’t spend as much money on repairing the damage.
Reduced utility bills: A leak can cost you significant money because you pay for water you’re not using. Because infrared detection effectively and quickly finds the leak, it prevents your water bills from ballooning out of control.
Improved well-being: Water damage can harm your health when you experience prolonged mold exposure. By finding and fixing the leak before the mold formation grows out of control, you’re safeguarding your health and avoiding expensive or long-term medical bills.
How Infrared Detection Works With Moisture Meters
Thermal imaging for leak detection works best when you pair it with a moisture meter. While reliable at detecting patterns that usually indicate a water leak, the camera can sometimes give a false positive, especially in the hands of a less experienced plumber. In other words, while a camera will always detect these patterns, the patterns themselves don’t always indicate you have a leak.
Moisture meters offer flexible and reliable methods of confirming whether the temperature changes actually result from a leak. These meters look like a stud finder and can scan the affected area and produce a specific reading of the surface’s internal moisture content.
Why Choose Mr Leak Detection?
Why is Mr. Leak Detection the right choice for locating leaks in your pipes? We pride ourselves on the following values:
High-quality service: Our plumbers give 100% of their dedication to every job no matter how big or small the work. The work always produces superior results and relies on our considerable experience, education, and cutting-edge techniques.
Exceptional professionalism: Our staff always remains professional even under the most stressful situations or most difficult jobs. This means they always arrive on time, remain friendly, and treat your family and home as though it were their own.
Guaranteed satisfaction: We provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee because we know the customer is the most important part of our business. If you’re not happy with the work we performed, we’ll go out of our way to fix the issue.
No-risk work: Every plumber carries full licensing and insurance. In the rare event we damage your home during detection or repairs, you’re never liable for paying for the resulting damages.
When you need the most reliable and competitively priced infrared moisture detection, reach out to Mr. Leak Detection. From helping you with insurance claims to completing our work diligently and efficiently, you’ll enjoy working with us throughout the process. To book service, contact us online or call (706) 995-7953.
