Can Wood Moisture Meters Help Detect Leaks?
Absolutely!
Whether you’re a building inspector, plumber, builder, flooring installer, woodworker, or homeowner, a wood moisture meter is a powerful tool for leak detection, uncovering water damage, and preventing more of it in the future.
This is because pinless moisture meters help you compare areas of lower and higher moisture content, enabling you to identify potential moisture issues without damaging the wood you’re measuring.
With moisture meters, you’ll no longer have to scratch your head and take a guess at where leaks could be happening—you’ll have moisture measurements to back up your hunches.
Learn how moisture meters can make leak detection a breeze as we go over:
How moisture meters help detect leaks
Wood moisture meters are designed to measure how much moisture a piece of wood contains. These moisture readings are typically used to determine when wood is dry enough to safely use in various projects, although you can also use wood moisture meters to confirm the presence of leaks or water damage that has not yet become visible.
Think of a moisture meter as your sixth sense. If you’re a home inspector or a flooring installer, for example, you can use the meter to analyze different places in the building that commonly have excess moisture. And in identifying high moisture areas, you’ll know to keep an eye out for mold growth and other moisture-related issues.
This is incredibly helpful because it can help you locate leaks you may not have found otherwise.
While water damage can happen virtually anywhere in a building, it most often occurs in areas where moisture collects.
That’s why it’s smart to use wood moisture meters to test the following areas for high moisture levels:
- Where walls meet the roof
- Behind siding
- Around windows and gutters
- Near or under pipes
- Under and around roofs
- In the basement or crawlspace (especially if a lot of rain fell recently or it smells damp and dank)
- In bathrooms—because so much water is used regularly here, leaks can form in any number of places
- In kitchens, especially around sinks, dishwashers, and refrigerators
- Around washing machines
- By any appliances that use water
As you measure in these areas, be careful not to measure over metal as metal can throw off moisture meter readings. Additionally, to get the most accurate measurements, you’ll want to moisture test exclusively on flat surfaces.
You’ll also want to make sure your meter is in “relative mode” if you’re measuring non-wooden building materials like drywall or laminate.
A wood moisture meter is, of course, specifically designed to measure the moisture content of wood. It can’t tell you how much moisture non-wooden materials contain. But the usefulness of relative mode is in its ability to compare moisture levels across certain materials, so you can determine if, say, one area of drywall has more moisture in it than another area.
Some of the materials you can measure with relative mode include:
- Gypsum (drywall)
- Laminate or vinyl flooring
- Brick
- Concrete (except for overly wet concrete)
- Siding
- Linoleum
- Carpet
For scanning and comparing in relative mode, a pinless moisture meter is best because it won’t leave unsightly pinholes behind, and it’s much easier and quicker to take readings.
But before using your pinless meter to compare moisture levels in different areas or materials, let’s go over the how-to details for using a wood moisture meter in relative mode.
How to use relative mode
Operating procedures for relative mode may differ depending on your meter’s manufacturer.
However, most meters, including Bessemeter’s meters, use relative mode by following these steps:
- Switch your meter to relative mode:If you’re not measuring wood, you’ll want to put your meter in relative mode. While relative mode won’t give you a precise moisture measurement of non-wooden materials, it can give you a comparative reading on a relative measuring range determined from a baseline measurement.
- Take a dry baseline measurement:To establish your baseline, take a measurement in relative mode of a dry portion of the material you’re looking to measure. For example, if you want to measure drywall, first measure what you know to be a dry portion of the drywall to get your baseline reading.
If the following measurements you take are higher than your baseline measurement, you’ll know those areas contain more moisture. If your other measurements are significantly higher, this could indicate a larger moisture problem, such as a leak. - Take measurements throughout your test area:Take multiple measurements throughout the material you’re testing. This may help you determine where moisture is present at different points in a wall, which can help you trace a leak to a window or specific corner. You may also be able to see how far the leak has extended by the amount of high-moisture measurements you get over an area. Anything measuring the same or lower than the baseline is dry, and anything above is wet. For example, the dry piece of drywall you measure might read 20. If any part of the rest of your drywall measures much higher than that (like 60 or 80) chances are that you’ve discovered a leak.
But don’t stop using your meter here! After you addressed the leak, continue to monitor the area with the moisture meter. This way, you can double-check that there aren’t any other issues and that the leak has truly been resolved.
One of the best tools for leak detection
Suspecting the presence of a leak is never enjoyable. Water damage can be a serious concern, and if left unchecked, it can cause significant problems for the structure.
With a moisture meter, you can make more than just an educated guess about what’s happening. You can determine where the wetter areas are, and possibly tell how widespread the leak has become.
What better tool can you have in your pocket?
Bessemeter wood moisture meters are fast, easy to use, and convenient with their backlit LCD displays, audible alerts, and high-moisture notifications.
And with their calibration blocks and two-year warranties, you can rest assured of the accuracy and craftsmanship Bessemeter has to offer.
Check out Bessemeter’s selection to see our affordable, high-quality digital moisture meters.
Curious to learn more about moisture meters?