Experienced low water pressure in your home lately? Have an unusually high utility bill this month? Noticed damp spots in your carpets or floor? If you answered yes to all these questions, then you may be faced with a slab leak. Leakage inside the pipes or under the foundation of a home, slab leaks need to be dealt with immediately or they will turn into extremely costly repairs.

To put it simply, water leaks that occur underneath a concrete slab are known as slab leaks. Being able to detect the slab leak and understand what’s causing it is extremely important because a slab leak that is left unattended can become extremely dangerous. So, if you notice any of the signs of a slab leak, call in a plumber in Crowley, TX right away. So, what are the signs to look for to detect a slab leak? Let’s find out.

The Signs of a Slab Weak

To detect a slab leak in your home, you need to look for the following signs:

Mold

Water travels up your walls once it has seeped into your flooring. The walls quickly absorb the water and this generally leads to walls with mold. So, if you notice mold in your walls, you may want to get your home inspected for a slab leak by a service that performs plumbing in Crowley, TX.

Deformed Flooring or Damp Carpet

If it isn’t deal with immediately, the water leaking below your concrete slab will be soaked up by the latter. As it gets saturated, the concrete will force the water to head somewhere—which is generally your flooring and carpets. So, if you notice soaked or damp carpet or warped flooring without any noticeable cause, get your home checked for a slab leak by plumbers in Crowley, TX.

Damage to the Foundation

While not easily identifiable, damage to the foundation is one of the biggest signs that have a slab leak in your home. Steel supports and concrete slab are the two things hold your home together, meaning they are your home’s foundation. Shifts and cracks in your home’s foundation can be caused by slab leaks, which generally appear as rises or bumps in your floor. So, if you notice any flooring with bumps or rises, do not hesitate to call in a plumber in Crowley, TX to have your home checked for a slab leak.

Damage to the Yard

On occasions, leaky pipes are present not inside your house, but beneath your yard. When this happens, you may notice flooding in your yard, damaged landscape caused by constantly flowing water, and grass patches that are never dry. If you notice these slab leak signs in your yard, call in professional plumbers in Crowley, TX right away.

Smell

The final sign to look for when detecting a slab leak in your home is a musky smell. This smell in your home is caused by walls with mold, and wet flooring and carpet—all signs of a slab leak. So, don’t slack when you notice a musky smell inside your home. Instead, call in a plumber in Crowley, TX without any ado.

With the signs of a slab leak discussed, it’s time to look at its causes.

The Causes of a Slab Leak

A number of things can cause slab leak in your home. However, following are the most common causes of slab leak in Crowley, TX:

Shifting of Ground

The surface and concrete slab your home was built on start to weaken with time as they have to bear the tremendous weight of your home. Ultimately, this causes the shifting of ground. In case there is significant ground shift, your water lines will be put under immense pressure. Over time, this pressure on the water lines will lead to leaks and cracks in them. Another thing that can cause ground shift is a natural disaster such as an earthquake. So, you should get your home water lines inspected by plumbers in Crowley, TX if you live in an old home or an area prone to earthquakes.

Corrosion

Another common cause of a slab leak is corrosion. Generally, this problem occurs in pipes carrying hot water. The pipes can develop corrosion on the outside due to the exchange that takes place between the material surrounding the pipes and the water heat. In pipes carrying cold water, corrosion generally occurs on the inside. Since their foundations have galvanized steel or cooper pipes, older homes are the most at risk of encountering this problem. While copper can resist corrosion, it cannot avoid it and the reason for this is electrolysis.

Electrolysis

When the copper within your pipes comes in contact with minerals buried beneath your home’s soil, electrolysis takes place. The consequence of this is tenuous electrical reaction that over time causes abrasion in your pipes until they leak. So, if you copper pipes are present under your home’s foundation, have your home inspected regularly for a slab leak by a service that performs plumbing in Crowley, TX.

Poor Water Quality

If poor quality water is running through your pipes, then your pipes are at risk of getting damaged. Signs to look for here include water that is too basic or acidic or checking the composition of the water with a Ph test. However, there is an easier way to detect this problem than a Ph test. If you smell chlorine on turning on the faucet or if you notice your bathtub having an aqua-colored ring, you should have you home inspected for a slab leak by professional plumbers in Crowley, TX.

There you have it—the signs and causes of a slab leak. With the above information, you can easily detect the presence of a slab leak in your home and when you do detect it, don’t hesitate to call in Benjamin Franklin in Crowley, TX to have the problem fixed.