A hidden leak is easy to explain away. The water bill jumps and you blame the landscaping. A warm spot shows up on the floor and you blame the weather. A faint mustiness comes and goes and you blame the dog. Meanwhile, somewhere you can't see, under the slab or inside a wall, water can keep running the whole time. The bill is usually the first sign. If it climbed and your habits didn't change, it's worth having someone look.
The good news is that finding a leak is not the guessing game it used to be. Detection equipment hears through slabs and reads temperature through walls, and while a lot rides on the leak and the house, it can often get things down to a small area with little or nothing opened. That means fewer exploratory holes and fewer walls opened up on a hunch. The approach on each job belongs to the licensed contractor.
Sometimes the equipment finds nothing. That happens, and it's good news, because a leak under the slab or in a wall is ruled out and the high bill can be checked somewhere simpler, like a toilet or the irrigation. Either way you know where things stand. It starts with one call, and what happens after that is your decision, made with the facts in front of you.
