Why You Need A Plumber For Slab Leak Detection | Myrtle Beach, SC

Most homes have concrete slabs for the foundation. This type of foundation is affordable and easy to construct and protects your home from pests like termites. Sometimes the copper water and sewer lines beneath slab foundations crack and leak into the slab. This is known as a slab leak and could cause extensive damage to the slab and the rest of your home.

Since these pipes run beneath the foundation, slab leaks often go unnoticed until it’s too late. That’s where slab leak detection comes in. As the name implies, slab leak detection is the process of detecting slab leaks under a building’s foundation. Only a licensed plumber can conduct this exercise and repair the leaking pipes.

Here are a couple of reasons to hire a plumber for proper slab leak detection. But first, what is a slab leak?

What Is a Slab Leak?

As mentioned, a slab leak is the cracking and subsequent leaking of the water and sewer lines beneath your home’s foundation. These leaks are caused by random earth movements, improperly installed pipes, and age-related pipe deterioration.

Some of the telltale signs of a slab leak include:

• An inexplicable rise in your water bills
• A foul, musty odor from the walls and floors
• Visible cracks on the foundation slab
• Damp and faded spots on your floors

Call a reputable plumber the moment you notice any of these signs. They’ll confirm whether you have an actual slab leak and chart the best way forward. The longer you wait, the more extensive the damage.

How Does Slab Leak Detection Work?

Slab leak detection is an intricate and complex process that requires professional knowledge and expertise. A plumber uses specialized tools and equipment to detect the source of the leak and the amount of leaking water. Some of the techniques plumbing technicians use for slab leak detection include:

1. Electronic Listening

Electronic listening involves using listening devices to listen for water leaks. This process determines the leak’s general location before a line tracer traces the exact source of the leak.

2. Static Leak Isolation

The technician uses a video camera and hydrostatic pressure tester attached to the end of a sewer snake. The camera feeds visuals of the plumbing lines to a screen while the pressure tester checks for hydrostatic pressure changes to isolate the leak.

3. Digital Water Leak Detection

This method uses sound to check for leaks under the slab. Leaky segments of the pipe produce a different sound compared to non-leaky ones. This method is ideal for detecting multiple leaks in the foundations of large commercial buildings.

Reasons to Hire a Plumbing Technician for Your Slab Leak Detection

Slab leaks are incredibly detrimental to your building’s structural integrity and only worsen with time. Slab leak detection helps get to the root of the leaks so you can fix the problem permanently. Here’s why you should arrange for slab detection if you suspect a slab leak:

Protect Your Family’s Health

The moisture from a slab leak can spur the growth and proliferation of bold. The mold spores can lead to respiratory complications, especially for people with allergies. The complications include wheezing, coughing, and breathing problems.

Slab leak detection will identify and address the slab leak before it triggers mold growth. This helps you protect your family’s health and avoid unnecessary healthcare expenses.

Prevent Floor Damage

Water from a slab leak can seep through the foundation and substantially damage your floors. This is especially true for wooden floors that swell and warp when exposed to water.

Most homeowners spend a bundle on elegant flooring to complement their home’s interior. Slab leaks could cause thousands of dollars worth of damage and significantly compromise your home’s value. Slab leak detection by a licensed plumber uncovers these leaks before the water seeps into your floors.

Prevent Structural Damage

Considerable damage to the foundation can severely impact the stability of your building. Exposing the foundation to too much water leads to cracking. While small cracks in the foundation are harmless, large ones pose a serious risk to your building’s integrity. The cracks become larger with time because mold grows inside and expands them.

Foundation damage leads to warped siding, wall cracks, and sticking doors. It’s worth noting that most home insurance policies don’t cover such damages. A plumber will detect and fix the leaking pipes so you can sidestep this structural damage and the financial burden of repairing the damaged structures.

The excess water from a slab leak can also erode the soil your home sits on, threatening its stability. The problem is compounded by changing soil properties like water content that decrease the soil’s bearing capacity. This could lead to complete structural failure.

Reduce Your Water Bill

A sudden spike in your water bill could indicate a slab leak. All the water leaking from the copper lines goes to waste, but you still have to pay for it. This explains the sudden increase in your water bills.

By detecting and addressing the leak early on, a plumber will help keep your water bills reasonably low. Of course, you must pay the plumber for slab leak detection, but the money you save over time will be many times the service fee.

Protect the Environment

The average American family wastes about 9,400 gallons of water every year. An undetected leak means wasting a lot more water. This wastage worsens the country’s freshwater supply strain spurred by the population boom.

Furthermore, many aquatic species depend on fresh water for their survival. Slab leaks waste a lot of water, and the longer they remain undetected, the more water they waste. This negatively impacts the environment and threatens the existence of many aquatic plant and animal species.

Schedule Slab Leak Detection Today

Do you have damp spots on your floor, visible cracks on your foundation, and abnormally high water bills? If so, you could have a leak in the pipes beneath your foundation. Arrange for slab leak detection by a certified plumber to solve the problem once and for all. The longer you wait, the worse it’ll get and the more money you’ll pay to solve it.

Contact Emergency Plumbing today if you suspect a slab leak in your home or business. Our plumbing technicians will help you identify and seal these slab leaks.