Most people are likely to agree that owning a home can be both a gift and a curse. Sure, it’s wonderful to have a place to call your own, and some tax benefits associated with home ownership are fairly helpful. On the flip side, anything that goes wrong with your property suddenly becomes your financial responsibility. In fact, some homeowners end up spending more each month on maintenance and repairs than on their actual mortgage payments.
As frustrating and financially crippling as it might be to have to deal with household repairs, certain issues you, the homeowner, should never ignore. One such problem is none other than the ever-dreaded slab leak. Blair Harris is the director of Sales and Marketing at A&R Mechanical Services, a locally owned, full service Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning business that has been serving the Amarillo, Texas area since 1992, and according to her, a slab leak is something that can only get worse if it isn’t repaired as quickly as possible.
A slab leak is a water leak that is found under a home’s slab foundation. If your home doesn’t have a basement or crawl space, then you might one day end up finding yourself faced with the prospect of dealing with a slab leak. Slab leaks can be caused by ruptures or problems in a home’s water lines. If left untreated, a slab leak can significantly damage any given home and compromise the integrity of its foundation in the process. Therefore, it’s important to reach out to a professional the moment you begin to suspect a slab leak. By ignoring the problem, you’re only likely to make your situation worse (and much more costly). Additionally, since the exact source of a slab leak can often be difficult to detect, you’ll need to bring in a plumbing company that has the tools and experience necessary to find and fix the leak before it leads to further destruction.
So how do you know if you have a slab leak? According to Harris, the most obvious sign is the presence of water or damp spots on the first floor of your home. You might also come to notice that your foundation seems to suddenly be settling, despite the fact that your house isn’t all that new. If this is the case, then a slab leak could be to blame. Another indication that you might have a slab leak is a drop in water pressure within your home – something that might become annoyingly apparent as you attempt to wash dishes or take a shower. Finally, if your water bill arrives and it is much higher than usual, then there’s a good chance that a slab leak is brewing beneath the surface of your home.
If you have reason to believe that you might have a slab leak, then it’s important that you contact a plumbing professional as soon as possible. As troublesome as it might be to shell out money for a leak detection and repair job, by letting the problem fester, you’ll only make things worse both logistically and financially. Remember, nobody ever said that owning a home doesn’t come with some drawbacks; but hopefully, for your sake, the good will eventually outweigh the bad.
