Need advice quick, flooded floor!

wifehatescar

wifehatescar

My L5-S1 is killing me!
Well, went out of town for a week and this is what I came back to. :ticked
The pipe going into the toilet tank had a slow drip drip leak for a couple days, take a look at the pics. The toilet is on the other side of the wall from the first picture, the second picture is of the floor right below the incident. So far I vacummed up the water left in the carpet, pulled the carpet up, tore out the pad and threw it away and sprayed bleach on the floor board to kill any mold.

Questions:
How screwed am I?
Do I need a professional for this?
Insurance company or private?
FWIW, we plan to move within 6 months, does that impact the situation at all?

Thanks :mad: :brick
 
Steve,
Can you fix the leak your self, so there is no more incidents
You might luck out with the carpet, as long as it doesnt leave a water stain you should be alright.
But the ceiling will definately have to be painted, because water damage shows up real fast on that. When you do, first put a coat of Killz as a primer (works great) then paint the ceiling.

You should not need your insurance co.

You also said that your were moving, do you own or rent?

Hope this helps

Happy Holidays
"J"
 
If the the floor just became wet and you caught it withing a couple days, you probably don't have too much of a problem.
Leave the floor covering off for a while to let everything dry completely. It no swelling occurs then you should be good to go with new carpet etc.
For the water spots on the ceiling (provided there is no dry-wall damage) spray a sealer on the spots (a clear spray lacquer works well) ... let dry and repaint the spotted area. If you do not seal it first the stain will keep bleeding through the paint.
Hopefully the problems are not any worse.
Good luck!
 
wow thanks for the quick response, we own.
yes I stopped the leak and should be able to fix it, it is the least of my concern though. The carpet looks fine.

My main concern is either permanent water damage or mold.

My guess is it has been leaking slowly for a couple days. I will do the sealer/painting thing in a couple days. What do I look at to see if things are swelling?
 
The subfloor will look wavy or have bumps on it. As it dries out, some of it will go away but, it it remains and is bad, then you might need to put down some plywood to smooth out the floor. The real damage would occur if the leak was going on for a period of time. Then the floor and floor joists would become soft and spongy (the first stage in the rotting process. From what you have described, I think things will be fine with minimal repairs.
 
you should be fine. Just let the wood area dry out. a fan will speed up the process if you have one. If you are worried about bacteria and mold, there is a liquid called Microbahn and it will kill it and has a pleasant smell. Like the other post, Kilz the ceiling and paint it and it will be fine you should have any problem with the sheetrock, just make sure it dries out to. I have replaced many a floors and miles of sheetrock and yours isnt as bad as you think.
 
What a great forum, so many good ideas in 20 minutes :bigups

I may have to re-tape the ceiling because the tape looks to be lifting a little further than where the water mark is.

I have a fan on the floorboard right now and after only 30 minutes it is mostly dry.

I may buy a dehumidifier too and run that, would that help at all?
 
Tape coming undone? Is the drywall sagging? Run the dehumidifier in the room with the drywall. You may want to poke some small holes through the drywall to get air on the backside of the drywall. The tape shouldn't come loose just from water getting on the drywall, unless it is puddled up on the back side of the drywall.
 
OI812 said:
Tape coming undone? Is the drywall sagging? Run the dehumidifier in the room with the drywall. You may want to poke some small holes through the drywall to get air on the backside of the drywall. The tape shouldn't come loose just from water getting on the drywall, unless it is puddled up on the back side of the drywall.
Click to expand...

If you poke holes in the sheetrock and use the dehumidifier it will help suck the moisture out from the back of the sheetrock but isnt necessary. The dehumidifier should pull the moisture out. OI812 said it right, the tape shouldnt come loose unless its puddled up or if it has become to saturated.
 
When I made that statement about poking the holes, I am figuring there is standing water above the rock. Poking the holes will help get it out. If you don't get it out it will keep creating a problem. Hope it helps
 
OI812 said:
Tape coming undone? Is the drywall sagging? Run the dehumidifier in the room with the drywall. You may want to poke some small holes through the drywall to get air on the backside of the drywall. The tape shouldn't come loose just from water getting on the drywall, unless it is puddled up on the back side of the drywall.
Click to expand...

Well I knocked off all the "soft" paint on the ceiling, the piece of tape hanging and the other one near where the wall meets the ceiling were pretty loose. I poked 6 holes in the softest spot I could find of the drywall, no water came out, it is just a hair damp. I blew a hairdryer into the holes for like 5 minutes. Ugh, what a mess!

I couldn't find a dehumidifier tonight, I'll have to get one in the morning.
I :kneel it dries out nicely and does not get any worse
 
Well, everything seems dry right now...the worst problem I'm fighting is a damp smell in the bedroom/bathroom. I did not buy a dehumidifier but I did buy 3 large "Damp-Rid" containers to help take moisture out of the air. Anyone else have any suggestions? The carpet is mostly dry and does not look to be stained but I fear that is where the musty smell is coming from :dunno

Oh yeah, I'm also cycling the A/C on and off to help absorb the moisture.
 
It might take a while to get rid of the damp smell ... Even though everything feels dry, it might take several days for all the excess moisture to get out of everything. As long as you can keep some air circulating and don't rplace the carpet untill it all dries out, you should be OK.
 
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