Some common liquid leak detectors, such as Snoop™, are soap solutions. These solutions are easily drawn into the pneumatic system, analytical column, and detector by Venturi flow. Because soap solutions can cause irreparable damage to a GC column, they should never be used. If necessary, you can use a 50/50 mixture of water and isopropanol as a liquid leak detector that will not damage your column. Many liquid leak detection fluids have limited usefulness on hot fittings (i.e., above 100°C) because they boil away. An
electronic leak detector is always the best choice because it is more sensitive and it will not damage the column.
