In industries such as food production and preparation, medical and automotive, where people are constantly around, gas and liquid leaks have the potential to be deadly. For example, a gas leak in a car or at a restaurant, could easily lead to a major explosion. Having this happen in an enclosed car, or a restaurant or hospital filled with people is a terrible thing to even imagine. Radiation leaks in cars and microwaves can also have negative effects on health. For these reasons and countless others, many of these places use leak testers to help ensure everyone is safe.

While leak detectors are able to constantly check systems to determine if leaks occur, leak testers work slightly differently. Leak testers are only used when a system is running slightly off, for instance if it is running slower, or at a less efficient level and a leak is the suspect problem. By checking if a problem is occurring, you can not only protect yourself and those around you, but the appliance can be less likely to fail and it can prevent damage to the environment.

There are many different leak testers available. Some of these include pressure decay, vacuum decay, mass flow, helium accumulation and colorimetric development. Each tester tends to work in a different way, for example some will gauge changes in pressure while others may use chemicals to produce a type of visual reaction. One of the easiest methods to test leaks is called the bubble test. In this method, a pressurized test object is submerged in water and bubbles will come out of the location of the leak. This test is not only effective, but it is also very inexpensive. The only issue is it will not work with sensitive equipment, and in these cases specialized testers must be employed.