Damage from a Toilet Water Leak

Water Damage from a Small Toilet Leak

11/10/2021

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One weekend, while working on refinishing a desk and chair, I went in search of a piece of foam for the chair seat. I didn't find the foam, but instead found this...

Seeing the wet bathroom mat indicated that there was a water leak.

...a soaked bathmat! Walking into the room next door, I found a situation that would consume the rest of the day!

The source of the leak was the water connection to the toilet.

This water connection to a rarely used toilet was the source of the leak. It was slow but persistent. We estimate it had been leaking for at least a week.

The carpet, padding, and concrete were water soaked.

Under the carpet in the adjoining room the concrete was soaked. All this carpet and padding had to go!

You can see the water spread almost to the closet. If the leak had gone undetected, the water would have traveled into the next adjoining room and would have created a mold problem.

Here we are pulling up the carpet to see how far the water traveled. You can see footprints in the wet padding!

This water situation was to big to DIY so we called in Silver Lining to help dry out the room.

This water situation was to big to DIY so we called in Silver Lining Carpet Care and Restoration to help dry out the room.

When the bottom of the drywall was tested for moisture, it was 100%. The drywall had to come out.

We were really lucky that only a little mold had formed by the time the leak was found!

This carpet tack strip had started to mold. This is the one closest to the leak. All the wet tack strips were removed.

Silver Lining brought in a dehumidifier and a HEPA filter to help dry out the room and capture any airborne mold spores.

Before the carpet could be removed, the water was extracted.

After the flood! It's amazing how much damage this very small water leak caused! It could have been worse had it continued much longer. I'm very grateful we did not end up with a mold issue!

What a mess this small water leak caused! This bathroom is rarely used so that is why the leak went undetected for so long. Once this bathroom is back in working order, there will be a Flo by Moen smart water detection device at the toilet and under the sinks!

Please note: This is not a sponsored post.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

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