If you are among those facing a small or big slab leak, this is the right place to discover the knowledge you require to tackle this situation. Many times homeowners leave a slab leak unrepaired.

This can lead to severe problems that later on are going to attract high costs of maintenance. Therefore, if you want to know further about the consequences of neglecting a slab leak repair, this article is for you.

Introduction

Slab leaks shouldn’t be kept unnoticed as they can cause great damage to your property later on. Therefore, if you identify even a small leak in your home or yard, it is better to call for professional help immediately before it unleashes its effect and causes severe problems leading to a long list of the maintenance budget. There can be multiple types of leaks, but the most difficult one is a concrete slab leak.

Understanding The Meaning Of Slab Leak

A slab leak can cause great damage to the building blocks of your home as it results from a leaking pipe underneath your home’s foundation. Therefore, making it extremely difficult even for a professional to identify the exact location of the leakage. However, this doesn’t make the repairing task quite tricky in itself. If the source is precisely identified, it takes no time to complete the repairing process and makes it a brand new product again.

How To Detect Slab Leaks?

Though it is challenging to identify whether we have a slab leak, various ways can help you conduct slab leak detection at your home in Carlsbad.

Sewage blockages

If you experience a backup every time you utilize the washbasin, it is precisely an indication of a sewage blockage. This incident shows that somewhere a blockage is taking place in the main sewer line.

If it happens once in a while, then the reason may be due to the blockage of the pipes. In this case, the problem will disappear after having the pipes cleaned. However, if the backup continues, it calls for a slab leak repair in Carlsbad.

Foul Odor

Another easy way of slab leak detection is a foul odor. If you experience sewer gas smells in your home, it is a clear symptom of a leakage in the sewer line. If there is a leakage in the main pipe, it will lead to a musty smell throughout the house, making it damp to breathe.

Building of Mold

The growth of mold is a great problem that acts as a clear indication of a slab leak. It grows in moist areas where the humidity level rises significantly, thus preparing a favorable atmosphere for mold development.

Water Spots

The easiest method of slab leak detection is through water spots. These are damp areas that can be found either on the walls, ceiling, or floors and act as the easiest detecting method of a slab leak. On touch, the area feels cold and humid.

Increased Water Bills

It can sometimes happen that we receive high water bills. However, it indicates a hidden concrete slab leak drastically increases the bills if it continues each month without a proper explanation. This can result from any leaks either above the ground or below. If it cannot find this source above the ground, the problem is hidden underneath the foundation.

Swelling Of An Area

Often, we find a heaved area in the yard or at home without any reason to be found. This may result from a slab leak that has occurred due to the swelling of a slab.

Low Water Pressure

If you have a hidden concrete slab leak, there must be places where the water pressure is shallow. This results in the effect of constant leakage.

Consequences Of Leaving A Slab Leak Unrepaired

There are multiple consequences for you waiting as a result of leaving a slab leak unrepaired.

1. Damaged Floors

If your house has a hidden concrete slab leak, the water has no other option but to come upwards. This will lead to moist and damp floors that can result in slow damage due to consistent high moisture content. It can also lead to cracking of the tiles, thus opening up the possibilities of more high maintenance costs.

2. Damping Of Carpets And Furniture

Since the leaked water moves upward, it will wet the complete floor, thus making the carpet soggy. This can also dampen the furniture base creating a perfect place to build up signs of damage.

3. More Prone To Diseases

The increase in the moisture content due to slab leaks creates a favorable atmosphere for germs to grow and make people more prone to diseases.

4. Foul Smells

Foul odors act as a way to detect slab leaks. However, it can increase significantly if you keep it untreated, making it unbearable to breathe inside the house. These smells also contain various germs that can affect the health of the family living in the home.

5. Mold Disaster

Damp places are the perfect areas for molds to grow. However, molds can lead to serious health hazards if not taken care of immediately. These weaken the building’s structure, thus increasing the possibility of life hazards.

6. Damage To The Foundation

The most hazardous damage that slab leaks can cause is weakening the building’s structural foundation. This becomes a grave situation when left unnoticed as it can lead to the collapse of the building.

7. Damage To Yards

If there is a severe leakage of the slab, it can result in septic waste pulling out in the yard. This becomes a hectic issue where you need to repair the source and have to clear and clean the yard properly to avoid any further damage from mold.

8. Heavy Monetary Loss

A simple slab leak can result in a high monetary loss if kept without maintenance. Any minor damage can take the role of becoming a severe issue in no time. Thus it is wise enough to treat the defective areas as soon as possible without giving them a chance to spread more.

9. The Speedy Growth Of Grasses In The Lawn

The sewage water leaking from the slabs acts as a fertilizer for the lawn, thus providing the perfect nutrition required for grass to grow. At first, it may not look like a big issue; however, if thought carefully, you can understand how this constant growth of the grasses can lead to the development of shrubs, thus building the perfect atmosphere for mosquitoes and insects to grow. This can lead to diseases like malaria and other mosquito-bearing illnesses. All these can ultimately result in long lists of medical bills and lawn maintenance bills.

10. Insect Infestation

If any concrete slab leak is left unrepaired, it can lead to insect infestation. Broken sewer lines are perfect places for cockroaches, small rats, and bugs to get in and start breeding. This can lead to an infected water line that can result in severe illness and allergies. Therefore it requires immediate repair to obstruct further damage.

What Causes Slab Leaks?

There may be several causes that can lead to concrete slab leaks. Here are a few reasons that can be the cause of slab leaks in your home.

Soil Shift

Soil shift is the number one cause of these slab leaks. Maximum homes experience an extensive shifting of the soils on which their houses are built. However, these soils are expansive soils containing few substances that can absorb water easily. This results in the expansion of the ground below the home. Therefore when the earth moves due to the water absorption, it weakens the pipelines, thus creating a slab leak.

Faulty Installation

Often people look for services that are cost-effective rather than focusing on the quality of the service. This can lead to hiring inexperienced and inefficient plumbers who wrongly install the plumbing system, thus weakening the pipelines and slab leaks. However, this can be a costly affair, as the problem is right at the source and requires the attention of professionals who can repair the slab without damaging your property.

Use Of Inferior Quality Plumbing Materials

Another significant cause for slab leaks is the utilization of inferior quality plumbing materials. It is often said to use a trusted and robust product to ensure maximum efficiency. However, if one uses low-quality or old materials for their home’s plumbing system, it can lead to weakened water lines and cause severe damage to your building’s foundation.

Chemical Reactions

Various metals underneath the ground can cause a chemical reaction with the substances that these slabs and water lines make. With this, it suggests the houses need to be built by following a proper elevation and plan. The metals underneath the earth’s surface react with the plumbing system, thus causing cracks on the pipes and concrete slab leaks.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes leave behind devastating effects on both house property and the water lines beneath your foundation. It is a natural disaster that cannot be predicted before, and thus no precautions can be taken in advance. Earthquakes can cause the pipelines to become loose and weak, thus leading to a slab leak.

Highly Acidic Water

Acidic water is another reason for this slow degradation and cracks of your slab and pipes. The high pH level of the water can slowly react with the material of the lines and gradually causes damage throughout the years, thus leading to a slab leak. In this case, a slab leak repair in Carlsbad is highly called for to avoid any future mishaps.

Copper Pipes

Slab leaks can be detected in older homes where the plumbing system and the sewer pipes are made of copper. Since this water contains a high level of salts dissolved in it, the water becomes highly acidic, thus slowly degrading the lines and leading to cracks and holes.

Friction

Since the water is circulating throughout the household through various appliances and sinks, it can cause the pipes to brush against the other lines, stones, pebbles, or gravel. This can cause a significant amount of friction that can lead to thinning of the pipes. As a result of this friction, the water will leak and will damage your property’s foundation. So, it requires regular checkups, and if found any issue, it calls for immediate slab leak repair in Carlsbad.

High Water Pressure

Another cause of concrete slab leaks is high water pressure that can slowly weaken the pipelines below your foundation. To measure the water pressure, a water pressure gauge can be of help. Upon using the device, if it is confirmed that your pipe system has high water pressure, you need to install a water pressure reduction valve. This is the best method of slab leak repair in Carlsbad.

How To Repair A Slab Leak?

Multiple methods are already available to fix a slab leak. However, it depends on the maintenance budget and the professional’s advice. The cost of repairing can fluctuate from anywhere, starting a few hundred bucks to thousands of dollars.

1. Repiping

It is an easy method of solving a leaking slab that can cost you only a couple of thousand dollars. You can access the pipes in your foundation from a new route established either outside the foundation or in your backyard or attic in this system. Also, it saves the headache of removing the floors of your house and is a quick solution to your concrete slab leak.

2. Replacing Dissection Of The Damaged Pipe

Another option for a slab leak repair in Carlsbad is to replace the section of the damaged pipe by drilling through the slabs. However, it is a messy process that involves removing the tile floors. It also can cause damage to the flooring, thus increasing floor repairing costs.

Conclusion

If you face any such difficulty, contact a professional plumber for an immediate slab leak repair in Carlsbad. It is not something that should be kept unnoticed because it will not take much time for minor damage to become a severe issue that can become a hazard to your and your family’s health and life. Multiple plumbing repair agencies are available in each small and big city. However, you should trust the most authentic and experienced one like EZ Plumbing Restoration to ensure maximum efficiency in the service delivered.

10 Important Consequences of Leaving a Slab Leak Unrepaired