A good detection visit ends with a marked spot and a written report, not a hole in the floor. Before you agree to anything, ask how the company finds leaks, what you get in writing, and whether detection is all they do. This checklist works for any company you reach, including one connected through AquaTrace.
Detection only, or repair too?
A detection-only company has no repair to sell, so the finding stands on its own. A repair plumber can still detect well. Judge the method and the report, not the label. The right question is never the business model. It is whether the company can name the test that found the spot. The plumber who repairs your leak still needs the spot first, and a repair plumber who detects uses the same meter, acoustic, and thermal tests.
Ask which methods they use
Acoustic listening, thermal imaging, tracer gas, and camera inspection each fit different leaks. One method alone rarely closes a case. A company that names its methods and matches them to your symptom is doing diagnosis. A company that will not say how it finds leaks is asking you to trust a guess. The detection process uses each method where it works best.
Acoustic listening fits pressurized lines. Thermal imaging fits hot lines and radiant heat. Tracer gas fits lines that nothing else can hear. Camera inspection fits drains and sewer lines, not pressurized supply lines. A company that matches the method to the symptom is diagnosing. One that pushes one method for every leak is selling that method.
Ask what you get in writing
The answer should be a marked spot plus a written report. What a detection report should include is the test results, the location notes, and the repair options talked through. If the visit ends with only a verbal guess, you paid for the guess, not the finding.
Ask whether they cut before they locate
The order matters. Locate first, mark the spot, then the repair plumber opens one place. Any company that wants to open floors or dig before testing is working backward. The whole point of detection is to keep the opening small.
Ask about the home behind the leak
Citrus Heights homes are mostly 1970s stock on slab-on-grade foundations, with copper under the slab, galvanized in the pre-1980s homes, and polybutylene from 1978 to 1995. A company that asks the age of the home and the pipe material is already diagnosing, because the pipe decides which failure fits the symptom.
What a fair visit looks like, step by step
The call starts with questions about the symptom: where, when, bill change, one fixture or all. The visit starts with the meter test, then isolation to narrow the section, then listening or imaging on that section. The company marks the spot and writes the report. The repair plumber opens the mark. Any visit that skips the testing and goes straight to opening floors is not detection. It is guessing with tools.
Red flags to walk away from
Pressure to decide on the spot. No written report. A plan to open floors before any test. A promised repair price before the leak is located. Any one of these is enough to call a different company.
Vague answers are a flag on their own. If a company will not name its methods, will not put the finding in writing, or will not mark a spot, there is nothing to check their work against. The full list of detection services shows the methods a full detection visit draws on. Ask any company you hire which of those methods it uses.
The short checklist
Run through this list on the call, before anyone comes out. Five yes answers mean the visit is set up right.
- Methods named, matched to your symptom.
- Report in writing, not a verbal guess.
- Spot marked before anyone cuts.
- Detection first, digging second.
- Home age and pipe material asked about.
Frequently asked questions
Should I call a plumber or a leak detection company first?
If you know where the leak is, a visible pipe or a running toilet, call a plumber. If water is missing somewhere hidden, detection comes first. The plumber needs the spot before opening anything.
Do I need a company that only does detection?
Not necessarily. What matters is method, marking, and a written report. A repair plumber who detects with the same tools and reports in writing is fine.
What should a detection visit include?
Meter and pressure checks, listening and imaging on the suspect lines, a marked spot, and a written report you can hand to your plumber.
Is a company with no reviews a risk?
Check what you can: methods, report, marking, and how plainly they answer your questions. A new company that explains its process beats a famous one that will not explain anything.
What if two companies disagree on the spot?
Ask each one what test pointed to their spot. The answer that names a test, meter, acoustic, or thermal, beats an answer that is only a guess.
Related
- What a Leak Detection Report Includes
- How Leak Detection Works
- How Plumbers Find Hidden Water Leaks
- Leak Detection Services in Citrus Heights
- Contact
Think you have a leak?
Call AquaTrace Leak Detection to describe what you are seeing in Citrus Heights and get connected with a company that will plan how to find it.
Call (877) 814-1654Last updated: October 27, 2026.