Slab leaks can cause serious damage to your home. When the foundation of your home becomes compromised, it could lead to structural damage, which puts you and everyone else in the house at risk. Because slab leaks affect the foundation of a structure, they can be extremely difficult to detect and challenging to repair. To better prepare yourself for a potential slab leak, make sure you can recognize the common signs or symptoms. And, if you think you might be dealing with a slab leak issue, make sure you know what to do to handle the issue efficiently.
Signs of a Slab Leak
Sometimes slab leaks are referred to as concrete seeping, which occurs when a wet patch or water bubbles up through the concrete or through the flooring on your property. This term can accurately describe one of the most common symptoms of a slab leak—flooring water damage.
Other signs of a slab leak include:
- The sound of running water, even when all faucets are off
- Cracks in the walls or flooring
- The presence of mold or mildew in your home caused by excessive moisture
- Unexplained wet floors, soggy carpets, or bubbles in laminate flooring
- Inexplicable increases in your monthly water bill
- Feeling warm sections of the floor
How Do Slab Leaks Occur?
In most cases, slab leaks are difficult to detect. The slab is the concrete foundation laid beneath a building to support the structure. When the water pipes or drain pipes that run through the slab crack, burst, or leak, it can damage the slab itself or cause water to seep into your home. The leak does not have to do with the slab itself, but with any of the plumbing protected within, around, or underneath the concrete slab.
Slab leaks can be caused by a number of issues. Sometimes the pipes in the slab will corrode, causing leaks or breaks in the plumbing. Or, shifting in the ground from an earthquake might put pressure on the pipes, causing them to burst or break. Additionally, high water pressure or improper plumbing work can lead to pipe damage under or around the slab, causing a slab leak.
Treating a Slab Leak
Most plumbing issues are complex, and slab leaks are no exception. In order to ensure that your slab leak is handled properly, it is crucial that you call a professional plumber for help. Trying to handle a big job, like a slab leak, on your own can create far more problems than it solves, resulting in serious, expensive damage. The instant you recognize slab leak signs in your home or commercial property, call in the experts to get the job done right the first time.
Our certified plumbers at Dutton Plumbing can assess the damage to your home in order to determine the cause and best solution in the case of a leak. Our team can repipe the necessary area, reroute existing pipes, or reline your pipes.
If you think you may have a slab leak, our plumbers can help. We serve customers throughout Simi Valley, L.A. County, and Ventura County. Contact Dutton Plumbing, Inc today to get started.
