Finding a Water Leak Under a Concrete Floor: Expert Tips and Methods
Water leak detection is one of the biggest challenges in Orange County. Everyday All Star Plumbing and Restoration receives tons of requests for water leaks repairs, as such issues are pretty frequent in Orange County.
The concerns mount up when you fail to detect the leakage, which causes so many disturbances in your life. No wonder difficulties will keep arriving until you identify the leakage source. You can manage water leaks easily in Orange County with All Star Plumbing and Restoration.
Why Does an Underground Water Leak Need To Be Fixed Immediately?
Do not take underground water leakage casually. It can lead to mold problems, cracks in floorings, ceilings, and walls. An unpleasant odor is another big challenge when you do not repair underground water leakage in time. You must call a plumber to determine the source of leakage. The early consideration mitigates upcoming challenges for both plumbers and homeowners.
A consistent leakage issue could be worse as it will slowly damage the foundation of your house, walls, and ceiling.
You can fix underground water leakage at minimum cost and fewer hassles if the leakage is petite and has no severe effect on the entire property yet.
On the other hand, if the leakage is old and has been damaging your house and plumbing system for so long, it’s hard to tell how much expenses could be resulting from the process.
If you ignore underground water leakage, it may cause substantial damage to your property. Further, it also increases your repair budget.
Detecting the Water Leaks First
At times detecting the source of water leakage is quite challenging. Underground water ducts leakage can cause substantial damage to your property if you do not fix the leakage in time. You should avail professional help that can resolve the water leakage issue.
1. Checking the Water Meter
Whether water leaks exist or not is sometimes easy to tell from the water meter and to assure that, turn off all the taps. Keep the main supply on. Now check the meter; if figures are changing fast, that means there’s a significant water leakage to be repaired immediately in Orange County. In most events, leakage can be minor, and to detect that, you should wait for at least 2 hours and re-check whether the water meter changes its figures.
2. Tracking the Usage Of Water
You certainly need to think about water leak repair if the water usage in the home is more than regular. To simply put, a family of 4 can easily use 12000 gallons of water a month. But if the water usage increases, a leak may be to blame.
3. Low Water Pressure
One of the eminent methods to identify potential water leaks underground is to monitor the pressure differences. You can measure the difference with the help of a meter, and it helps you determine the water leakage.
To simply put, if the flow rate is lower than its terminus at the start of pipe length, it signifies a potential leakage. Low pressure is an alarming sign, and you should seek immediate assistance from professionals.
4. Monitoring the Bill
The cost of water bills for the house must be within a similar range unless the water billing rates keep increasing. If you have recently witnessed an uptick in your water bills, the concern is genuine now. There can be a massive water leakage underground, adding more figures to your water bills each month.
5. Checking the Exterior Usage
The wet surfaces around your home may indicate that minor or significant water leakage is present in Orange County. Proper inspection is needed to avoid substantial damage to your property.
6. Checking the Bathroom and Toilet
Bathrooms and toilets are the prime areas that may face water leakage issues. Detecting a bathroom water leakage is quite hard. Ensure no one is using the bathroom for the time being and monitor the situation. A wet floor, damped walls, discoloration are the signs of leakage. Call a professional and fix the issue.
7. Additional Appliances
A water display or fountain at your home can also cause underground water leakage and fixing such leakage is difficult. Sometimes, the underneath pipeline network can get ruptured which results in leakage. You can notice it from the damp soil in your yard. You should contact a professional to detect the leakage early.
8. Being Logical
See whether the roof or walls look a bit damped, changes in color, or texture. Any moisture on the ground indicates leakage. Inspect all the connections of your home, and try to locate the potential area of leakage which needs immediate attention to overcome the trouble.
Repairing Underground Water Leaks: Professionals Method
After the inspection, it’s time to reach the water leakage area and repair it like professionals. Below we have discussed the step-by-step process of mending the underground water leakage in Orange County. So let’s take a look.
1. Consider Safety Before You Begin
Before you think about repairing the leakage in Orange County, consider your safety first. Make sure you are equipped with the needed tools and safety gear to avoid hassles in the future. There are numerous things to consider when you are up to repair underground water leaks. Improper construction, abrasion, poor water quality, or shifting soil can cause water leakage.
2. Locate the leak
First, locate the leak’s location and find a crack, if available, anywhere in the water leakage area. Alternatively, you can sprinkle some color in the water and monitor the water flow to identify the stream’s origin. Few signs like peeling paint, patches of discoloration may help you detect the water leak in Orange County.
3. Turn Off the Water Supply
Once you identify the potential underground leakage, the best practice you can do is to turn off the main water supply. Stop the water from the primary source or message your water supply to do the needful. You can’t enter the repairing zone until the main water supply gets closed. Otherwise, it will lead to massive and uncontrollable water waste.
4. Dig the Trench
Once you identify the suspected area of the water leak, spread out the tarp. Dig into the ground; the pipeline should be available just 3 feet below the ground. Again, make sure you freeze the pipeline as things will turn out messy and creepy, which is undesirable at this point.
5. Drain Water from the Trench
While you dig into the ground, make sure you are ready to tackle the water accumulated in the trench. It can be more challenging if the leakage is severe and you leave it overlooked for a long time. You may require a vacuum pump to drain the water from the trench and repair the leakage as soon as possible.
6. Repair the Pipeline
It’s worth replacing the pipeline entirely rather than doing any modification. So try replacing the pipes with a similar pipe material rather than seeking other affordable adjustments. But it’s also worth considering the type of pipes like copper, PVC, galvanized steel, CPVC, or PEX for replacement. Any ignorance or fallacy can invite leakage issues for the second time.
7. Test the Repair
After repairing completion, test the repair before you fill the trench. Release some water in the pipeline to know if there’s any leakage in the pipeline. If you find potential leakage or water drops are oozing out from the fixes, and connections, try working upon it. Use a unique plumbing rubber band to fix the lock and check again.
8. Fill the Trench
Fill the trench with soil or sand once the underground leakage gets fixed. Make sure you aren’t putting much pressure over the pipeline, as repaired pipes may rupture again. Fill up the trench carefully and let the dirty or dusty water flush out from the tap connected with the ducts before you use the water.
Common Questions May Arise While Fixing Water Issues
What to do when you suspect water leaks?
Water leakage problems are common across many homes and offices. Even after a robust plumbing network, water leakage may happen. Initially, it is hard to detect the leakage; therefore, you need to look for particular signs that indicate leakage. If needed, seek help from professionals for repairing water leakage issues in Orange County.
What are the common causes of underground leaks?
Underground leakage can happen for various reasons, which are explained in the following line.
- Improper Construction – The incorrect foundation of your house or weak plumbing system may cause underground water leakage.
- Poor water quality – Poor water quality can also lead to underground leakage. Such as, if the water gets blocked by sediments or the pressure is too high, that pipe can’t control itself, then leakage is possible.
- Abrasion – In rare circumstances, the outer surface of the pipe comes in contact with outside elements during earthquakes or natural disasters leading to water leakage underground.
- Shifting soil – This issue may again surface by the earthquake or at a place where the plumbing system is weak under the sandy land with no solid concrete solution built.
How to find a water leak underground?
It hardly needs a few basic know-how to find potential water leaks underground. Such as the best way to spot whether water leaks exist or not is to watch around. If land feels a bit wet, the wall is damaged, or an unwanted smell comes from rooms, potential underground water leakage may exist.
How much does it cost to repair water leaks?
The cost of water leaks repair can vary depending on how severely the plumbing system is damaged or if the entire plumbing system needs to be removed and replaced. But try contacting professionals, as they may have helpful plumbing tools and knowledge that can help you manage your issues at an affordable price.
Final Words
Follow these steps carefully if you are dealing with the leakage issue at your home. These are the few essential steps that professional plumbers work upon to fix an underground leakage issue. These self-repair practices can help you and if problems remain consistent then contact professionals from All Star Plumbing and Restoration at 949-541-6940. They are the top plumbing service providers amongst many in Orange County County. Upon emergency, they provide their immediate services at a pocket-friendly price.
