Slab Leak Detection: Telltale Signs Of A Slab Leak Within Your Home | Manfield, TX
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Did you know that average household leaks in American homes can waste up to 10,000 gallons of water every year, which is equivalent to the amount of water needed to wash up to 270 loads of laundry? The majority of these leaks can be traced back to leaky toilets, showerheads, or faucets.
However, slab leaks, which are often quite difficult to detect, also pose a significant danger to your Manfield, TX, home’s structural integrity. Most residential premises are constructed with a concrete slab foundation, where several pipes pass through partially or completely. In that context, slab leaks occur when one of the pipes develops a leak that causes water to well up into the slab and eventually into your Mansfield, TX home.
Slab leak detection experts claim that the pipes may break for a variety of reasons. Firstly, pipes may spring a leak due to abrasion since they may rattle a bit as water moves through them. This movement, resulting from expansion and contraction as a result of water temperature fluctuations, may cause the pipe to scrape against the concrete slab until a leak develops gradually.
Also, slab leak specialists link these forms of leaks to corrosion of the underlying pipes, which is particularly common in older homes that have copper pipes, which are notably susceptible to corrosion.
Additionally, they warn that the ground shifting could be another cause for slab leaks. When the ground shifts underneath due to construction defects, stormy weather, or tectonic movements, the concrete foundation may apply undue pressure to the underlying pipes causing them to break, hence forming a leak. Leaks of this kind have been known to cause extensive flooding.
With adequate knowledge on what slab leaks are and their causes, below are a few signs you can rely on to determine if you require assistance from a professional slab leak company near you.
Foundation heaving
When slab leaks happen, the floor of your home may develop a swell as the water continually seeps into the concrete. However, when the swelling is extreme, it may lift the foundation slightly, a phenomenon described by slab leak detection specialists as heaving. Heaving requires immediate response lest you risk incurring significant financial losses due to the extensive property damage associated with it, especially when there’s a notable shift in the home’s foundational structure. Apart from the slab, heaving can manifest itself in the form of cracks in your home’s interior and exterior walls.
Reduced water pressure
If you’re in the shower one day then suddenly the water pressure greatly decreases, or the water turns cold for a short while, it could be an indication that you could be having some plumbing problems. Sometimes it could be nothing more than a minor faucet leak while at other times the decrease in water pressure could be as a result of a slab leak.
This is because any form of plumbing leak disrupts the flow of water towards various destinations within your home. In the case of slab leaks, the pressure fluctuations may be ongoing or partial such that they could be occurring within intervals of a few seconds. Regardless, you will need a professional slab leak detection technician to help you in fixing the issue.
Significant rise in water utility bills
Whichever form of plumbing leaks your Mansfield, TX home may have often translated into your monthly water bill. Therefore, to detect leaks on time, you can actively monitor your household’s monthly water usage and utility bills. When there’s a leak within your home, the water runs around the clock instead of when you’ve opened up the outlets in your home, which significantly spikes the amount consumed in your household.
In that context, when you notice a substantial increase in your monthly water bill payments without a notable change in circumstances, such as having guests around the house, it could be due to a leak. When the leak’s not easily visible, it may be happening beneath your home’s concrete slab, making it important that you speak to a reliable slab leak service provider.
Warped flooring and wet carpets
In most cases, water from a slab leak will move upwards, and with time, it may eventually reach your flooring and carpeting, leading to significant damage. Depending on the flooring your home has, the extent of the damage may differ. For instance, in homes with hardwood flooring, slab leaks may cause the wooden material to warp, which can not only compromise your home’s aesthetic but also cost you a pretty penny in repair and replacement costs.
In a carpeted home, the homeowner may observe that some sections may feel damp and look slightly darker than other portions within the house. With the knowledge that nobody could’ve spilt something on the carpet, the most amicable solution would be to set up a meeting with a reliable slab leak detection company.
Warm spots on the floor
The majority of slab leaks handled by most slab leak detection companies can be traced back to problems with the hot water line. When such leaks occur, the concrete above the location of the leak may begin to warm up as hot water seeps into the ground.
As the seepage continues and the concrete continues warming up, the flooring also begins heating up. Such spots can be quite difficult to spot in a carpeted home. Still, with tile, linoleum, or hardwood floors, an experienced water leak detection technician won’t take long before identifying the source of the leak. Therefore, noticing hot spots in odd areas within your flooring could mean that you could be having a hot water line break.
The sound of running water
If you constantly keep hearing the sound of running water within your home, even when there’s no open water fixture in your home, then it could be time to schedule a slab leak detection service. But before doing so, you can confirm if indeed it’s a slab leak by turning off all appliances that require water within your home.
After doing this, you may need to go to the lowest level of your home’s building and listen to the floors. If you hear the sound of running water yet you’ve already turned off all the outlets; it could mean there’s a slab leak.
Slableak.com, a trusted slab leak detection company near you
Slableak.com is a locally owned and operated plumbing company that’s been specializing in slab leak detection and repair in Mansfield, TX, and the surrounding communities since 2004. Our trained and certified slab leak repair technicians use electronic and radar tools to help in the timely detection of hot water or typical slab leaks. If you suspect a slab leak in your home, call our plumbers for a thorough slab leak detection inspection.