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This past Sunday, my husband and I noticed that our pipes were making a noise like water was running somewhere. All faucets in the house were off, the toilet wasn't running, and all outside faucets were off. Still, the pipes were singing: it was very audible in the laundry room, kitchen, and the bathroom on the far end of the house. Our neighbor came over to vist, and even he asked if we had water running outside because he could hear it when he was standing in our kitchen.
We couldn't see any signs of water leakage outside our home, and there was no evidence of water leakage inside. Sunday and Monday were very wet days, so finding a slab leak outside would have been pretty tough. When husband turned off the water at the main valve, the sound stopped.
Monday night a plumber stopped by and told us that yep, sure 'nuff we had a water leak, and it was a hot water leak. Nope, he couldn't tell us where it was without using his supertechnogadget on his next visit for $220. But he suspected it was in the bathroom between the tub and the sink. He determined the problem was with a hot water pipe by shutting off the water heater, and thereby stopping the noise.
The weather has dried out here and there is STILL no sign of water leaking outside or inside our home. We're keeping the water heater turned off unless we need to run a sink of dishes or take a shower.
Is there anything besides a leak that can cause the pipes to make noise like this? And is there any way to repair a broken pipe without breaking up our slab foundation? (A contractor friend suggested rerouting the section of pipe in question through the attic.)
Thanks for any advice you have to offer!
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