Leak Detection & Repair

Find Hidden Leaks Without Tearing Up Your House

Hidden leaks are some of the most expensive plumbing problems you can have, partly because the water damage usually costs more than the leak repair itself. A pinhole in a copper supply line, a hairline crack in a drain pipe behind a wall, or a slow slab leak under a finished basement can run for months before you notice anything beyond a slightly higher water bill.

Doro Plumbing specializes in finding leaks at their actual source, fixing them, and not making a mess of your house in the process. We use acoustic and electronic detection equipment so we can pinpoint the leak before opening up any walls, floors, or ceilings.

Signs You Have a Hidden Leak

Most homeowners don’t realize they have a leak until something visible happens. Catch it earlier by watching for:

• Unexplained spike in your water bill – the most reliable early indicator
• Damp spots, discoloration, or warping on walls, ceilings, or floors
• Musty smell in a basement or specific room
• Mold growth in unexpected places
• Sound of running water when nothing is turned on
• Hot spots on the floor (slab leaks on the hot water side)
• Low water pressure that wasn’t there before
• Cracked or settled foundation (advanced cases)

What We Locate and Repair

Slab leaks – leaks in the supply or drain lines running under a concrete slab. Common in homes with finished basements and ranches built on slab foundations. We use acoustic detection plus thermal imaging where applicable.

Supply line leaks – copper pinholes, PEX failures, polybutylene cracks, or galvanized pipe corrosion. Common in older Hartford and West Bend homes with original copper or galvanized supply lines.

Drain and waste line leaks – cracks in cast iron, separated joints, root intrusion, or PVC failures. Often hidden in wall cavities or above ceilings.

Outdoor irrigation leaks – leaks in service lines between the meter and the house, or in irrigation system supply lines.

Fixture and appliance leaks – the easy ones, but worth a proper diagnosis if it’s an intermittent or hard-to-isolate leak.

Water heater leaks – we’ll determine whether it’s a fitting, a valve, or the tank itself, and tell you straight whether it’s repair or replace.

Why Detection Matters

Plenty of plumbers can fix a leak. Finding the leak is the harder part, and that’s where most of the cost gets decided. The wrong approach means tearing open three walls before you find the right one. The right approach means a single targeted opening, a clean repair, and a much smaller patch job afterward.

We use:

• Acoustic listening equipment for pressurized supply leaks
• Electronic moisture detection for damp areas behind finished surfaces
• Thermal imaging for slab leaks and behind-wall hot water leaks
• Camera inspection for drain line and sewer leaks
• Pressure testing to isolate which line is leaking

After the Leak

We fix the actual leak, but we won’t pretend to be a drywall or restoration company. For significant water damage, we’ll recommend a local restoration outfit we trust to handle drying, mold remediation, and finish repairs. For minor patches, we’ll do basic drywall closure ourselves if you want.

If your leak is the result of failing supply lines (especially in a home with original galvanized or polybutylene piping), we’ll talk through whether a partial repair or a full re-pipe is the smarter long-term move.

Doro Plumbing · (262) 229-5632 · Hartford, WI