To stave off costly repair jobs, damages, and unusually high energy bills, you should keep an eye on your home’s foundational areas. The foundation is made from a slab of concrete comprising several pipes beneath. These pipes might start leaking or burst, especially during summer, if they aren’t cared for properly. To locate where the slab is leaking, you must watch out for several things.
A slab leak is a kind of leakage that materializes under your home’s concrete foundation within your water lines. Because they aren’t visible, identifying these leaks is a challenge. If the leaks are left unchecked, they might result in irreparable damage. They might even dislodge the foundation of your home from its place. Therefore, it is vital to contact an experienced plumber to inspect and repair the slab leaks in your Normal, IL home.
What Might Cause a Slab Leak?
A wide range of factors can cause a slab leak, with most of them being out of a homeowner’s control. Below are the common causes of slab leaks;
- Corrosive damage inflicted by soil to the water pipes.
- The piping is damaged during installation
- Foundation or ground shifts
- If the piping is in contact with tough surfaces such as gravel, they might suffer pipe abrasion.
Fortunately, regular maintenance can help homeowners prevent slab leaks. Below are several signs to watch out for you to notice slab leaks:
Irrigation Leaks
Do you have any sprinkler or irrigation lines near the slab? Ensure you keep an eye on it. If it springs a leak, your slab might be prone to the reeling effects of leakages. It also is possible that there’s a breakage in the whole region. Hence, enlist a plumber to repair the slab to prevent significant damage. The plumbing expert will also patch the leaking sprinkler or irrigation lines to avoid damage from leakages.
Foundation Changes
In some cases, the concrete foundation of your home shifts and settles. A slab leak might have triggered such soil erosion. Are there any cracks on your walls or baseboard? Contact an experienced plumber immediately whenever you notice any anomaly.
However, it is worth noting that you cannot delay or wait for the inspection because of how severe the situation is. Immediately you notice the signs of an anomaly, contact a plumbing service. Otherwise, the problem might become costlier, meaning you will have to maybe pay more for replacements and restorations. The plumbers are uniquely trained to handle these problems, ensuring that your valuables remain safe.
Warm or Cold Spots
When talking freely at your home over the weekend, do you feel any cold or worm area on your floors? They might have been caused by leaking water pipes. Warm patches are caused when hot water leaks from the hot water system. However, you’d most likely miss the sign if you have a carpet covering the affected surface.
Therefore, contact a plumbing service immediately to have them repaired in your Normal, IL home whenever you notice these slab leaks. The plumbing experts will use new technologies and modern tools to patch the leaks without damaging your slab. Never attempt DIY repairs on your slab because you might affect your home’s foundation.
Mold
Have you noticed a spot of accumulated water on your floor for some time? A slab leak might have caused the spot. However, standing or stagnating water is a precursor for many imminent problems, including the formation of mold and mildew. Although the two mostly form in warm and damp conditions in places out of sight, you can smell the two, especially molds, from their characteristic pungent odor. Molds pose a significant danger to people with underlying respiratory conditions like asthma. Therefore, their presence at your home poses a risk to you and your family if inhaled.
Enlist the services of a professional plumber to come to your home and repair the slab leaks. These professionals use modern tools like leak detection tools and inspection cameras to pinpoint where the leaks are and resolve the problem entirely. They will also clean the mildew and molds using industry-rated cleaning products, ensuring that your home is safe for habitation.
Unusually High Bills
If your water and energy bills have increased over the last few months to a higher value than you’d expected, do not ignore or neglect them. Have there been additional members at your home? did you have a function that has used a lot of water lately? If the answer to the questions above is negative, you have cause for worry.
Compare the water use with the bills over the last few months and understand whether any rational factor led to that hike in the utility bills. Is there any plausible reason or explanation for the issue? If there isn’t, then you might be dealing with a leak, probably in the slab. Any plumber would tell you that in case of a leak under the slab, the water runs 24/7, meaning that the water bills will always be high.
The problem is more protracted if the hot water piping is leaking. Besides the water bills, you will also incur higher energy bills due to the reduced water pressure. Contact a plumber to inspect your plumbing and repair the leaking parts if you notice these signs.
Running Water Heater
It isn’t normal for the water heater to run continuously without an underlying issue. The heater is forced to heat the water from a slab leak. Although you might not notice the sound of the running water within the pipes, you can easily see when the water heater is persistently forced to operate. Therefore, call a plumber immediately you notice that the water heater is straining. The plumbing expert will inspect the hot water plumbing system to pinpoint the issue and take the necessary steps to remedy the problem.
Reliable Plumbers in Normal, IL
It is essential to stay vigilant and constantly monitor your plumbing systems. Check for any out-of-place plumbing activities and use a proactive approach. Slab leak problems can be avoided by ensuring regular maintenance with a plumber near you.
Whenever you notice any of the signs above, contact a reputable plumbing service like Covenant Plumbing for your slab leaks and schedule a timely s appointment. Neglecting the signs above can bring about catastrophic damage to your home. Do you need any slab leakage repair for your home? Call us at Covenant plumbing today.
