For most floors, condensation is the main reason for the sweating, especially in warm weather. When warm humid air from outside comes into contact with the cold concrete the air rapidly cools and condenses on the surface causing the wetness.
Reasons for Water Seeping Through the Floor. There are several common reasons for water seeping up through your basement floor, including backed up or collapsed drains, leaking pipes or appliances, a cracked foundation, clogged gutters, and poor drainage.
Causes of Surface Dampness on Concrete Slabs and Garage Floors: Humidity—warm and humid air condenses into surface moisture when it comes into contact with the cool surface of your concrete floor or slab. Faulty/Missing Vapor Barrier—moisture from the ground can seep up and through the concrete.
Apply a concrete waterproofing sealer over the entire surface of the floor in an even layer and allow it to dry completely. Apply a second layer of concrete sealer to ensure maximum protection. Allow the sealer to dry for at least 24 hours before walking on or placing the furniture back onto the surface.
Leaking Pipes
A leaking pipe is one of the most common reasons that a carpet might be consistently and regularly getting damp. Pipes are a facet of a property that are always in use, and if they have fallen into disrepair then it may well mean you will have a damp related issue on your hands soon enough.
YES, water around your foundation can come up through the concrete floor and can leave any material on its way soggy and damaged.
One key indicator of a slab leak is a focused spot of warmth in a floor or a single room that is warm or humid. Slab leaks in a hot water line cause hot water to accumulate. This heat transfers into the surrounding flooring and environment.
When it rains, water is absorbed into the ground until the earth is too saturated to soak up any more water. At this point, the water will begin to rise to the surface, causing hydrostatic pressure to build up against your foundation and basement floors, which leads directly to water seepage into your home.
Standing water under suspended ground floors is an all too common sight. Water may come and go depending on the seasons and amount of rainfall. The source of water ingress could be any combination of the following: Ground water due to high water table.
Tracer gas can be particularly useful when trying to find a water leak under a concrete floor or slab. The molecular size of the gas is far smaller than the water, the escaping gas will easily permeate through the concrete and emerge at the surface where it can be detected using the 'sniffer' air sampling equipment.
Sound: Volume can range from a quiet hissing to a loud roar depending on the size of the leak. Smell: An unusual smell, petroleum odor, or gaseous odor will sometimes accompany pipeline leaks.
For the most precise leak detection, plumbers use video pipe inspection equipment. These are small cameras mounted on long flexible fiber optic cables. Plumbers can insert these in faucets and other plumbing outlets to detect leaks.
Specialist acoustic equipment is the most effective way of detecting water leaks underground. When water that's under pressure escapes from a leaking pipe it creates tiny vibrations. Using a highly sensitive microphone that's placed on the ground, these vibrations are amplified as sound.
Known as advanced noise loggers, the technology listens for changes in sound underwater. Placed permanently within pipes, the loggers listen through the flow of water to find hard to pinpoint leaks.
Hydrostatic testing is a process used for testing pipes and tanks for leaks. The test is performed by pressurizing the pipe or tank being examined and then monitoring water levels in the system for any changes. If the water level decreases at the monitoring point, that indicates a leak in that system.
The most commonly used leak test methods are underwater bubble test, bubble soap paint, pressure and vacuum decay, and tracer gas detectors (halogen, helium and hydrogen).
Both electrical and mechanical geophones are used to listen to buried water pipelines from the surface. These devices are accurate and highly sensitive that they can detect the exact location of the leak, and also cheap to purchase and easy to set up.
A slab leak is an industry term for a leak within the waterline piping below a home's concrete floor, and they can occur in homes and buildings of all ages. Broken water pipes under your home can cause irreparable damage to foundations and cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair.