What to do when you find a slab leak
Slab Leak First Response Services in Texas
Last reviewed
The first hour matters less than most people expect, as long as water is not surfacing. A few calm steps limit damage and make the technician’s job easier. Call and we’ll connect you with a local Texas crew for slab leak first response.
We’ll connect you with a local crew, day or night.
The first steps
- Look for water on or near the floor. If water is visibly surfacing or pooling, treat it as urgent.
- Close the main water shutoff if you can reach it safely. It is usually at the house, near where the line comes in, or by the meter.
- Keep people and pets away from wet areas. Wet floors are slippery.
- Stay clear of water near outlets, appliances or an electric water heater. Do not touch anything electrical while it is wet.
- Move valuables off wet floors and lift rugs or cardboard boxes if it is safe.
- Take photos of the damage and of the meter.
- Call. Describe what you have noticed, where and when.
If you smell gas, leave the building and call the gas utility and emergency services from outside.
Same-day and emergency response in many areas.
What not to do
- Do not break the floor, dig or cut pipes to look for the leak.
- Do not run water to test where it goes.
- Do not use electrical equipment in wet areas.
- Do not ignore a moving meter, even if nothing is visible.
- Do not wait weeks. A leak does not heal.
What to have ready for the call
- What you noticed, such as a warm spot, a sound, a bill or damp flooring
- Where in the house, and since when
- What the meter did in a check, if you did one
- The age of the home, and the flooring over the area
- Whether there has been a leak before
You do not need to know the cause. The technician works that out.
A technician can tell you what to do next.
What happens at the visit
The technician talks through the signs, checks the meter, isolates sections of the plumbing and tests each. If a line is leaking, the leak is located and marked on the floor. The technician then explains what was found and what the options are before any work begins. See how slab leaks are found.
Who handles what
- Leak detection and repair: the plumbing crew.
- Drying and cleanup of wet floors and walls: a restoration company.
- Replacing flooring: a flooring contractor.
- Structural concerns: a foundation contractor.
This site connects you with the first of these.
We’ll connect you with a local crew.
If you rent
Tell the landlord or property manager right away, in writing, with photos. Closing the main shutoff in your unit is reasonable if water is surfacing. Repairs under a slab are the owner’s to arrange. See rental and commercial slab leaks.
Describe the signs you have seen.
What to write down before the call
A few notes make the first phone call faster and help the technician decide where to start. They take only a few minutes and can be written on a phone.
- The date you first noticed a sign, and what it was
- The meter reading now, and whether the dial is moving with everything off
- Where in the house a floor is warm, damp or musty
- The age of the house and, if known, the pipe material
- Whether there has been a repair on the same line before
- Recent water bills, if you can find them
Photos of any wet area, with something in the frame for scale, are useful. Do not open the floor or cut into a wall to look. See slab leak detection for how a leak is located without doing that.
Finding and using the main shutoff
Knowing where the main shutoff is before you need it makes a leak much easier to manage. In many Texas homes it sits near the front of the house, close to where the line enters, or in the garage. Some homes have a shutoff at the meter box near the street as well.
Once you find it, check that it turns. Older gate valves can stick, and forcing one can break it. If it is hard to turn, leave it and use the meter-side valve instead if there is one, or ask the technician about it when they visit.
Closing the main stops water to the whole house, which stops a supply leak from running. You can open it again for short periods to use water, then close it after. This can buy time until the leak is located, especially if the meter shows a fast leak. See water meter leak check.
If the leak is on the hot side
Many slab leaks are on the hot water line. A warm patch on the floor, a water heater that runs more than usual, or the sound of water when no one is using it can all point to the hot side.
If you suspect a hot-side leak, closing the cold water supply valve at the top of the water heater can stop water from feeding the leak while leaving the cold side in use. That lets you use toilets and cold taps while you wait for the visit. For a gas water heater, follow the manufacturer's guidance about the burner while the supply is off. For an electric heater, turning off power at the breaker protects the elements if the tank drains.
Tell the technician what you did when you call. It helps them plan the testing, since they will need to restore the supply to test the line.
Protecting the house while you wait
While you wait for the visit, a few simple steps help. Move furniture, rugs and stored items away from any wet or warm area. Lay towels to soak up surface water, and change them as they fill. Run fans to keep air moving, but avoid pulling up flooring or opening walls before the leak is located.
Take photos of what you see, including the meter reading, and keep notes on when you noticed each sign. These help the technician and anyone who works on the house afterward. If water is reaching electrical outlets or appliances, turn off power to that area at the breaker panel.
If the leak is fast and water keeps spreading, close the main shutoff and leave it closed except for brief periods of use. Fill a few containers with water for drinking and cooking before you close it. That way the household has what it needs while the supply is off, and the leak is not running between uses.
Let neighbors know if you share a wall or a water line, in case the leak affects them too.
First-step questions
Usually at the house where the supply line enters, or at the meter. Many homes have a valve in a utility area or in a box on an exterior wall.
Yes. It stops water entering the house plumbing.
If water is surfacing or the meter is moving fast, yes. Same-day and emergency response is available in many areas.
Take care with electricity near water. Keep cords and outlets dry, and stay away from wet outlets.
Often, yes, with care around wet areas. If water is near outlets or appliances, keep away from them.
Leave the building and call the gas utility and emergency services from outside.
The damage, the meter before and after a check, and the affected flooring.
A restoration company handles drying. The plumbing crew handles the leak.
Tell the landlord or manager right away, in writing, with photos.
Call now and we’ll get a local crew moving
We connect you with a local technician who can find the leak and explain what comes next.
A local crew knows how homes in your area are usually plumbed.