Drought, clay soil and broken pipes
In August 2023, during a long drought, a ruptured water pipe in a Live Oak neighborhood went unrepaired for five days. It is a reminder of what dry ground does here. Much of Bexar County sits on clay with high shrink-swell potential: it swells when wet and shrinks when dry. In drought, that movement has pushed water main breaks across the San Antonio area past 1,000 in a single August.
The same ground movement stresses the pipes under a home's slab. That is why slab leaks are worth taking seriously here.
Signs of a slab leak
- A warm or damp spot on the floor
- The sound of running water when every faucet is off
- A water bill that jumps for no reason
- Flooring that lifts, stains or smells musty
A plumber finds and repairs the pipe. We map where the water spread with moisture readings and dry the floor, baseboards and drywall it reached.
When the water comes from outside the house
A broken line in the street or the yard can push water toward a home, and heavy rain can follow a long dry spell quickly in this part of Texas. Water from outside is treated as contaminated, so wet carpet, pad and the bottom of the drywall usually come out. See flood and storm cleanup.
On the I-35 corridor
Live Oak sits on the I-35 corridor northeast of San Antonio, and we serve it along with Universal City, Converse, Selma and the Northeast Side. More on water damage restoration.
Carpet, upholstery, rug and drapery cleaning in Live Oak
We also clean carpet, upholstery, area rugs, drapes and tile in Live Oak, with truck-mounted hot water extraction or low-moisture cleaning picked for what we're cleaning. Carpet is about $55 to $65 for a bedroom, or $0.55 per square foot, plus Texas sales tax.