A home isn’t just four walls where people stay. It is where people live some of their most cherished memories.
It is the people who make a home out of a house. So, it goes without doubt that a happy home is integral to happy people. The same goes for anything with a concrete base – homes, factories, tenements, offices – hence, we can stretch towards the conclusion that a solid concrete base is a foundation (get the pun?) to a happy and productive breed of the world’s social apes.
But did you know that water threatens the concrete foundation?
Concrete is posed with severe distress by water. Water seepage weakens the concrete. This is a well-known fact, yes. But did you know what causes water to seep? There might be several reasons, but let us focus on plumbing at the moment. Over time, the pipes underneath your house may wear out and start to leak. While this won’t create damage right away, these slab leaks can lead to incredibly high water bills and pricey problems down the road.
Bad pipes lead to water leaks, which gradually wreak havoc on your house. So, how can you find a water leak under concrete floor?
Life as we know it cannot exist without a quintessential ingredient – water. But finding water in unwanted spaces can be heavy onto a homeowner’s checkbook. Water leak in concrete slab floor, burst pipe under a concrete floor, soft spots in the floor, water leak – all of these are a sign of water leakage under your slab floor.
We think of homes as stoic, immovable objects meant to last a lifetime. What we oversee is that the earth beneath our home is constantly churning, expanding, and contracting. Over an extended period of time, this change puts strain on the materials – especially on the pipework laid in concrete.
Leading causes for under-slab leaks are –
Natural expansion and contraction of the soil
If you feel you’re experiencing something like this, read on as we guide you to find a water leak under concrete floor.
In most cases, an increase in water bills is the first indication of busted pipes and water leaks under your floor. If your usage essentially remains the same, yet your water bills are increasing, you should get your plumbing examined by an expert.
Side tip – You should also check the water meter – if your meter is spinning faster, you’ll be billed bigger.
Leaky appliances aren’t directly related to water seepage in a concrete slab but instead may suggest the same. Check for a leaking tap, toilet seat, and showerheads. Our favorite suggestion – is to check for a leaking toilet, mix a few drops of food coloring into the toilet tank and let it sit for a couple of minutes. If you find the color inside the bowl, you have a toilet leak.
You can also look for pools of water, damp carpets, and warped wood floors. Slab leaks are the usual suspect for such scenarios.
Extended exposure to moisture is the perfect environment for mold and mildew to grow. In a multitude of cases, mold isn’t particularly visible to the naked eye. Instead, be wary of areas that smell funny, musty, or funky. It is most likely due to mold, which is a result of moisture build-up, which is a result of water leaks.
If you find your flooring materials have begun to bulge, crack, or separate, then it is highly likely that there is water leakage around somewhere.
Any unexplained reduction in water pressure can be a result of a leaky or faulty pipe. One way to check this is to turn off every water-based appliance and go on to test the strength of the stream from every single tap.
If your hot water heater is running almost all the time, it may indicate a hot water leak under your concrete. A burst pipe on the concrete floor carrying hot water can be to blame for this.
They may create soft spots in flooring. To test this, you can walk barefoot around your home to feel areas that are abnormally hot. If you find one, mark the area and see whether it remains so after 24 hours. If it does, you may need to hire EZ Leak Detection for repair a water leak.
Our favorite way – If you own a cat, check the spots where they tend to cuddle and sleep. Felines are exorbitantly attracted to warmth and heat, so perhaps their favorite spot to curl up may be on top of a hot water leak…
If you hear water dripping on your walls or water running beneath your feet, call a plumber, not a priest! Sure, the sound of it may make you jump in fright and fear, but it can be solved by plumbing leak repair.
The constant sound of running water is perhaps the best indicator of leakage, from which we can conveniently assume that water seepage is taking place. Fix it as soon as possible!
Water, when escaping from freshwater or sewer pipes, often reaches the surface. It then cracks the tiles, separates walls, warps floors, or makes opening and closing windows and doors of your home a bit difficult.
Don’t be fooled by every crack in your tile, though… sometimes, when a heavy object falls on the floor or furniture is moved from point A to B, the tiles tend to crack. Be aware, don’t be scared!
As a homeowner, you wish for your home to be free of any plumbing and water damage problems. A healthy slab is literally the foundation of a house. As this blog tried to suggest, water seepage is the nemesis of concrete, and finding a water leak under a concrete floor is a consequence of slab pipe leaks.
You can always contact an expert technician to help you out. Utilize the services of a plumber or a slab detection specialist to identify a water leak under your concrete, if it exists. You can do it by yourself too, but such professionals have access to a range of leak detection equipment that helps them identify not only the leak spots but also analyze the leak source, pipe conditions, the damage extent, and whatnot.
Remember, having appropriate professional knowledge regarding the water leak is essential to form the right methods to eliminate it.
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