diff --git a/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/loaddata.py b/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/loaddata.py
index 39c4b163..a4521cf5 100644
--- a/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/loaddata.py
+++ b/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/loaddata.py
@@ -334,13 +334,3 @@ def _findDataBlocks(self):
 
 
 # End of class TextDataLoader
-
-
-def isfloat(s):
-    """True if s is convertible to float."""
-    try:
-        float(s)
-        return True
-    except ValueError:
-        pass
-    return False
diff --git a/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/validators.py b/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/validators.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2942c448
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/diffpy/utils/parsers/validators.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+def isnumber(s):
+    """True if s is convertible to float."""
+    try:
+        float(s)
+        return True
+    except ValueError:
+        pass
+    return False