What kind of leak, or is this a frozen pipe?

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froggermom

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Hi everyone. Allow me to give some background info.

Last week we had a clog that blocked our double kitchen sink from draining, hubby went out and bought some drain stuff and it worked, sink has been working fine. He did say that there was water in the hose that was still attached to the house faucet and it had not been wrapped for the winter yet. We live in Texas and the weather changes in a snap. I noticed one day last week around the same time as this a sewer smell outside the house but it only lasted for that one day.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and there is water that has soaked the carpet pad and obviously gotten the slab wet right before the entrance to our bathroom. In the past when this would happen, our toilet would have backed up and caused the carpet to get wet, etc. However that has not happened this time.

I am beginning to wonder if we have a busted pipe under the slab! I went and looked at the meter and it was not running (no water was turned on in the house). We have no money to fix this problem and really need to try to do something ourselves if at all possible. So I would like to know how to go about detecting a leak of this kind. Or does anyone have any other ideas? Our house was built in the early 1970s and the plumbing is all original, to my knowledge.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated!
 

Ian Gills

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I wonder if your toilet is leaking and you need a new wax seal?

The dampness would come from the bottom of the toilet only when you flush it.
 

froggermom

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well, that was what my first thought was, but there is no water in my bathroom.
 

hj

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leak

It could be almost anything, including a leak from at the tub/shower stall when it was used. NO way to diagnose it from here, especially if it is not a pressure water leak which would make the meter operate. The type of drain cleaner used is immaterial, because it had nothing to do with the problem, unless it was already there and ANY drain cleaner would have exposed it.
 

NHmaster

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I dunno bout that HJ. Ever see what Clobber does to old rotted galvanized piping? He may have opened up somthing that is now a problem. Ever seen a drain auger pushed through PVC? Since it weren't leaking before he done messed with it and tis now I have a suspicion that something done went wrong. And by the Way have yourself a Merry Christmas :) and a happy new Year.
 

Verdeboy

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If your meter isn't running, that rules out a "live" leak. So, it is either a drain leak, a weather-related leak, or someone just didn't have the shower curtain closed tight enough.

But, since you smelled a sewer odor, it is most likely a drain leak.

Do you have a crawl space under your bathroom? If so, I would go under there with a flashlight. The toilet or some other drainpipe could still be leaking, and you wouldn't see it from above.
 
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