What are the first signs of a hidden water leak?

A water bill that climbs without an obvious reason is usually the earliest clue. After that, watch for the sound of running water when every fixture's off, damp spots or recurring mildew on carpet and flooring, and a noticeable drop in water pressure at your faucets or shower. Any one of these on its own is worth a look. Two or more together usually means it's time to call.

Will you have to dig up my yard or tear out my floor?

Not usually. Acoustic and video equipment let us pinpoint a leak before any digging starts, and for slab leaks specifically, we can often tunnel underneath the foundation rather than breaking through it. Since most New Orleans homes don't have a basement, tunneling is frequently the cleaner option. Yard leaks found with a soil probe typically need just one dig spot instead of trenching the whole lawn.

How much does leak detection cost in New Orleans?

It depends on where the leak is and how it's accessed, so we'll give you a written estimate before any work begins rather than a flat number that doesn't account for your situation. Detection alone runs less than repair, and catching a slab leak early is almost always cheaper than waiting until it's affected your flooring or foundation. Ask us for a quote specific to your address, and we'll walk you through it.

How long does the leak detection process take?

Most thermal imaging and video inspections wrap up in a single visit, often within a couple of hours depending on the size of the home and how many lines need to be checked. Slab leaks that require tunneling take longer, since we're working underneath the foundation rather than through it. We'll give you a realistic timeframe once we know what we're dealing with, not a generic estimate before we've even looked.

What if the leak is coming from my water heater instead of a pipe?

It happens more than people expect, especially with tank units past the ten-year mark. If our inspection traces the problem back to the water heater rather than a supply line, we'll tell you plainly and walk you through the repair or replacement options, tank or tankless. No sense fixing a phantom slab leak when the real issue's sitting in the closet or the garage.

Do you offer emergency or same-day leak detection?

Yes. A leak that's actively running, especially one near electrical wiring or causing visible damage, doesn't wait for a convenient appointment slot, and neither do we. Call and describe what you're seeing. We'll get someone out the same day whenever the situation calls for it.

How do I book a leak detection appointment in New Orleans?

Call our New Orleans office directly, or fill out the request form on this page with your address and a quick description of what you've noticed, whether that's a sound, a wet spot, or just a water bill that doesn't add up. We'll confirm a time, usually within the same day for anything urgent, and give you a written estimate before any inspection work begins.

Leak Detection in New Orleans, LA

How Mr. Rooter Finds a Leak You Can't See

A slab leak rarely announces itself with a puddle. More often it shows up as a jump in your water bill, a damp patch on the carpet, or a faint hiss under the floor when every faucet in the house is off. Mr. Rooter Plumbing of New Orleans tracks down hidden leaks across New Orleans, Metairie, and Kenner with acoustic and video equipment, so you get a real answer instead of a guess. Call the New Orleans plumber homeowners turn to when something's leaking, and nobody can find it.

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About Our Leak Detection Services in New Orleans

Every accurate leak detection job begins by listening to you. Before setting up a single piece of equipment, our plumbers take the time to hear your observations—whether you've noticed a warm spot on the floor, a sudden spike in your water bill, or the sound of running water behind a wall. This initial conversation allows us to make an educated assessment and narrow down where the issue might be hiding.
When a leak is hidden behind walls, under subfloors, or beneath concrete slabs, thermal imaging allows us to see what the naked eye cannot. Infrared cameras detect tiny surface temperature variations caused by escaping water. Because leaking water—whether hot or cold—alters the temperature of the surrounding building materials, the camera renders a high-contrast visual map displaying distinct warm or cool spots. By identifying these thermal anomalies, we can pinpoint moisture pathways and trace the leak back to its origin without cutting open drywall or digging up floors prematurely.
For leaks inside the pipe itself, we run a camera through the line and track how far the cable travels before we hit the problem. That footage does two things at once: it shows us exactly where a crack, a joint failure, or a root intrusion sits, and it gives us a look at the overall condition of the pipe. Older cast iron and clay lines common in New Orleans homes often need more than a single leak fixed. If the camera turns up corrosion or a collapsed section further down the line, we'll flag it before it turns into a bigger repair, not after.

Why New Orleans Homes Lose Water Without a Trace

New Orleans sits on soft, water-saturated soil, and a lot of the city's slabs have shifted at least a little since the day they were poured. That movement stresses joints and fittings in ways homes on stable, dry ground never deal with, and it's a big reason slab leaks show up here more often than in drier parts of the country. Add in decades-old cast iron supply lines in the city's older housing stock, plus a humid climate that lets mold take hold within days of a leak starting, and a small drip can turn into a real problem fast.

The signs are usually there before the damage is. A water bill that jumps for no obvious reason is often the first clue, especially if nobody's changed their water habits. So is the sound of running water when every tap in the house is off; that's frequently a line leaking somewhere it shouldn't be. Damp carpet, warped flooring, or a patch of mildew that keeps coming back even after cleaning all point toward moisture working its way up from below. A sudden drop in water pressure at the shower or the kitchen sink can mean the same thing. None of these signs tell you exactly where the leak is on their own. Taken together, they're usually enough to justify a call before the water bill or the repair estimate climbs any higher.

Heavy rain and hurricane season make the guessing harder, not easier, since runoff and humidity can mask the exact signs a homeowner would otherwise notice. That's part of why New Orleans leak detection calls for equipment built to locate a problem precisely, rather than a rough estimate of where digging should start.

Why New Orleans Homeowners Call Mr. Rooter First

Most slab leak jobs in this city end one of two ways: the floor gets jackhammered open, or the crew tunnels underneath it instead. We lean toward the second option whenever the site allows it, since it leaves your tile, subfloor, and landscaping mostly untouched. Once the leak's found and fixed, we can also handle what's connected to it: drain repair if root intrusion or scale buildup is part of the problem, hydro scrub pipe cleaning to clear out what's built up in older lines, and water heater work if a tank or tankless unit turns out to be the actual source. You'll get a written estimate before any digging or tunneling starts, not a number that changes once the job's underway. We work across New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Harahan, Elmwood, Lakeview, Gretna, Terrytown, Covington, Madisonville, and Slidell, so wherever the leak is, someone local can get to it.

Why New Orleans Homeowners Call Mr. Rooter First

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Mr. Rooter Plumbing of New Orleans

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FAQs About Leak Detection in New Orleans, LA

A water bill that climbs without an obvious reason is usually the earliest clue. After that, watch for the sound of running water when every fixture's off, damp spots or recurring mildew on carpet and flooring, and a noticeable drop in water pressure at your faucets or shower. Any one of these on its own is worth a look. Two or more together usually means it's time to call.
Not usually. Acoustic and video equipment let us pinpoint a leak before any digging starts, and for slab leaks specifically, we can often tunnel underneath the foundation rather than breaking through it. Since most New Orleans homes don't have a basement, tunneling is frequently the cleaner option. Yard leaks found with a soil probe typically need just one dig spot instead of trenching the whole lawn.
It depends on where the leak is and how it's accessed, so we'll give you a written estimate before any work begins rather than a flat number that doesn't account for your situation. Detection alone runs less than repair, and catching a slab leak early is almost always cheaper than waiting until it's affected your flooring or foundation. Ask us for a quote specific to your address, and we'll walk you through it.
Most thermal imaging and video inspections wrap up in a single visit, often within a couple of hours depending on the size of the home and how many lines need to be checked. Slab leaks that require tunneling take longer, since we're working underneath the foundation rather than through it. We'll give you a realistic timeframe once we know what we're dealing with, not a generic estimate before we've even looked.
It happens more than people expect, especially with tank units past the ten-year mark. If our inspection traces the problem back to the water heater rather than a supply line, we'll tell you plainly and walk you through the repair or replacement options, tank or tankless. No sense fixing a phantom slab leak when the real issue's sitting in the closet or the garage.
Yes. A leak that's actively running, especially one near electrical wiring or causing visible damage, doesn't wait for a convenient appointment slot, and neither do we. Call and describe what you're seeing. We'll get someone out the same day whenever the situation calls for it.
Call our New Orleans office directly, or fill out the request form on this page with your address and a quick description of what you've noticed, whether that's a sound, a wet spot, or just a water bill that doesn't add up. We'll confirm a time, usually within the same day for anything urgent, and give you a written estimate before any inspection work begins.

See All FAQs

Residential
Commercial