Turn off every faucet and appliance, then look at the meter. If the little leak indicator or dial keeps moving, water is escaping somewhere in the system.
Walk barefoot across tile and concrete. An unexplained warm patch usually means a hot water line is leaking under the slab at that spot.
If you see water coming up through the floor or baseboards, turn off your home's main shut-off valve to stop the flow until a plumber arrives.
Cracks in flooring, damp carpet, a musty smell, or the water heater running constantly all help the plumber pinpoint the leak faster.
A slab leak is a leak in one of the copper or plastic water lines that run through or under your home's concrete foundation. Pipes shift, rub against the slab, or corrode over the years until a pinhole opens. Because the leak is hidden under concrete, the clues are indirect: warm floors, a jump in your bill, weak pressure, or a faint hiss of water when the house is quiet.
Soil movement plays a big role around here. Homes near Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, and the low ground toward Pajaro sit on shifting, damp soils that push and settle against foundations. That motion stresses the pipes locked in the slab. A plumber uses acoustic listening gear and pressure testing to find the leak's location, then a camera to confirm it, so we open only the small section that needs work instead of the whole floor.
Don't wait on this one. A slab leak keeps running day and night, wasting water and softening the ground under your foundation. Left alone it can lift flooring, grow mold in the subfloor, and crack the slab further. A hot water slab leak also runs your water heater nonstop, which you'll hear and feel.
We serve Castroville, Salinas, Marina, Seaside, and the surrounding coast, and we can usually have a plumber at your door in about 45 minutes to locate the leak and lay out your repair options, whether that's a spot fix or rerouting the line.
Describe what you're seeing to a real Castroville plumber: call (210) 555-0134 or send the form. Free, no obligation.