A slab leak can occur anywhere on your service line on a cold water supply line, a hot water supply line or a drain line. These leaks are enough to fill any homeowner will dread and you may be wondering if your homeowners insurance will cover the damages and how much you'll need to pay.
Unfortunately, these leaks often go on for some time before they're detected and you may not even realize you have a problem until you notice a wet spot on the floor. What's worse, homeowners insurance rarely covers the cost and you may be facing a cost upwards of $2,000 to fix the slab leak by hiring a plumbing company like Inland Empire Plumbing.
Still, these leaks do need to be fixed as soon as possible as the longer you wait, the worse the damages -- and cost. Here are some of the worst problems that can happen if you let the problem continue.
1. Damage to Your Foundation
Your home's foundation is basically just a piece of concrete with steel supports in it and damage will occur from a slab leak eventually. Slab leaks have been known to make your foundation crack, move or rise up, which compromises your home's integrity.
2. High Water Bills
Even a very small leak can cause you to waste thousands of gallons each month, potentially adding hundreds to your water bill every single month until it's addressed. While slab leaks can be expensive to repair, it can easily be more expensive to leave it untreated.
3. Floor Damage
With water leaking beneath your home's foundation, it will eventually run out of space and move upward. Slab leaks can destroy carpeting, cause tile floors to crack, make linoleum bubble and utterly destroy hardwood.
4. Mold Growth
Dangerous mold can become a real problem when water from the leak starts to get into your home. Drywall acts as a sponge, absorbing water from the leak and moving it through your walls, which is an ideal setting for mold growth. It takes only days for mold to start growing in the walls and mold spores can cause everything from asthma to an upper respiratory infection, or worse. Once it's in the walls, you'll also need someone who specializes in mold removal along with a Riverside plumber.
5. Musty Odors
Once the slab leak has been sitting for awhile, your home will take on an unpleasant musty odor. If the leak is in a sewer line pipe, you can just imagine how your home will start to smell in a week!
6. Destroyed Lawn
Slab leaks often occur in a sewer line or water main line and the leak could be under your lawn instead of your house. In this case, you can face thousands in damage from destroyed landscaping and dead grass. It can also cause structural damages if it occurs near a pool.
Residential plumbing repair is one of the most common yet annoying issues every homeowner faces at some point, whether it's a clogged drain or a water heater that's starting to leak. The most common problems are actually issues you can fix yourself with a little know-how and the right tools, although most people would rather rely on a local plumber in Riverside to tackle the problem.
Here are the 10 most common household plumbing problems in Riverside that you'll probably face at some point.
1. Clogged drains
Clogged sinks are used so often that it's rather easy for them to become clogged. Sinks in a kitchen clog more often than bathroom sinks as they're involved with preparing food, although the sink in your bathroom can get clogged with hair from shaving. Clogged drains, including clogs in the toilet and shower, can usually be avoided as long as you're careful about what goes down the drain.
2. No hot water
This is the most common reason homeowners call up a plumber and may sometimes be fixed without calling a professional. If you have a gas powered water heater, check to make sure the pilot light is lit. Next, make sure the temperature setting is high enough to give you enough hot water and determine if your water heater is actually big enough for the house. This problem is most common in new homes.
3. Dripping faucet
If the faucet in your bathroom or kitchen is dripping, it may be caused by worn-out washers in the faucet. This is a fairly and affordable fix, although you should take care in the future to avoid turning off your faucet too hard to extend the life of the new washers.
4. Leaking water pipe
This issue can cause a great deal of property damage, whether it's inside the home or underground. Signs of a leak include mold or mildew, standing water in the basement, a warm spot on your floor if your home sits on a slab and unexplained rises in your water or electric bill. Leaking pipes need to be fixed as soon as possible to avoid expensive damage to your foundation, belongings, flooring or ceilings so you should hire a plumber that specializes in leak detection for this job.
5. Running toilet
Toilets that are running usually have a humming noise and water will continue to run in the bowl long after it's been flushed. This issue can be taken care of rather easily by a plumber as it indicates there's a single part of the toilet that needs to be replaced.
6. Leaking toilet
Did you know a leaking toilet can cost you $100 in water costs each year? This problem can often be fixed by replacing the rubber gaskets and spud washer, although it can require a more complicated repair job.
7. Installing a new faucet
While some DIYers prefer to install their own faucets, some simply prefer calling a plumber to handle the job. Most plumbers will guarantee their work so you won't have to panic if you run into problems after installing it yourself.
8. Problems with a garbage disposal
Like all household appliances, your garbage disposal will occasionally stop working properly or give out. Many stop running after they trip the circuit breaker, often when something has caused the appliance to overheat. You can usually fix this issue by hitting the red button under the unit under your sink. Other common garbage disposal problems include leaks and obstructions under the blades.
Image credit: Maegan Tintari at Flickr
