Timo the owner of Leak Star Plumbing & Repair was doing some routine plumbing repairs on a home that he has served for years. He was looking for the water purification system and just happened to open the door to the water heater closet in the garage and discovered a very active water leak. It wasn't a huge plumbing leak, but it was spraying under pressure and it was very wet inside of the closet. Timo quickly fixed the water heater leak and then recommended that he bring in his dry out equipment. To the inexperienced eye, it didn't look very serious and the homeowner decided to just use a fan on it.
Timo reluctently accepted their decision, but he didn't feel good about it. A bit later that day, still concerned he called the homeowner and expressed his worries. He was so concerned that he said "if you don't want to use me, please call someone else". The homeowner had a change of mind and agreed to have Timo take a closer look.
Timo reluctently accepted their decision, but he didn't feel good about it. A bit later that day, still concerned he called the homeowner and expressed his worries. He was so concerned that he said "if you don't want to use me, please call someone else". The homeowner had a change of mind and agreed to have Timo take a closer look.
Keep in mind there was no sign of a plumbing water leak beyond the door of the water heat closet. The interior of the water heater closet was wet, but there was nothing wet that could be seen externally. There was a very small spot of lifting paint down in an area fairly far from the water heater closet, that could have just been aging paint.
Our crew began with removing the baseboard directly below the water heater closet. What was discovered was even somewhat of a surprise to the crew since there was no damage visible from the outside. The mold that was found was thick and black, standing elevated from the drywall. Exploration continued up the wall and toward a floor cabinet that was just an inch or so from the door of the water closet. The mold butted right up to the edge of the cabinet.
The cabinet was removed from the wall and a very large spot of molded drywall came into view. The back of the cabinet was very moldy and on closer inspection the bottom of the cabinet had been absorbing water for some time. The drywall from behind the cabinet was removed along with the wood panel exposing mold in the stud bays. The moisture, water and mold had spread to a wall on the interior of the the house, into the home's laundry room.
The drywall and shear panel was removed below the water heater closet and inspection was made below the water heater deck. The content of moisture in the drywall within the damage zone measured from about 35% all the way to a whopping 71.8% which is nearly dripping wet. None of this was visible from the exterior.
Water travels. Drywall and wood can and will absorb much of it. If your leak is somewhat small as this one was, never underestimate the damage a small plumbing leak can do. Just because you can not see any damage, know that with a certainty, if there is water, spraying or dripping, there will be some sort of mold or water damage. The sooner you catch it, the smaller the damage and that equates to smaller repair costs.
Mold is not something you want to mess with. Mold is unhealthy and can cause many health issues. A simple fan would have never been able to remedy this problem even after the water leak was repaired. Moisture would have continued to spread and mold right along with it.
Air scrubbers in this instance and every other requires air scrubbers. Mold spores can go airborne quickly and to prevent them from spreading, air scrubbers will filter the air, removing the mold spores, leaving the air clear. 760-519-8466
Our crew began with removing the baseboard directly below the water heater closet. What was discovered was even somewhat of a surprise to the crew since there was no damage visible from the outside. The mold that was found was thick and black, standing elevated from the drywall. Exploration continued up the wall and toward a floor cabinet that was just an inch or so from the door of the water closet. The mold butted right up to the edge of the cabinet.
The cabinet was removed from the wall and a very large spot of molded drywall came into view. The back of the cabinet was very moldy and on closer inspection the bottom of the cabinet had been absorbing water for some time. The drywall from behind the cabinet was removed along with the wood panel exposing mold in the stud bays. The moisture, water and mold had spread to a wall on the interior of the the house, into the home's laundry room.
The drywall and shear panel was removed below the water heater closet and inspection was made below the water heater deck. The content of moisture in the drywall within the damage zone measured from about 35% all the way to a whopping 71.8% which is nearly dripping wet. None of this was visible from the exterior.
Water travels. Drywall and wood can and will absorb much of it. If your leak is somewhat small as this one was, never underestimate the damage a small plumbing leak can do. Just because you can not see any damage, know that with a certainty, if there is water, spraying or dripping, there will be some sort of mold or water damage. The sooner you catch it, the smaller the damage and that equates to smaller repair costs.
Mold is not something you want to mess with. Mold is unhealthy and can cause many health issues. A simple fan would have never been able to remedy this problem even after the water leak was repaired. Moisture would have continued to spread and mold right along with it.
Air scrubbers in this instance and every other requires air scrubbers. Mold spores can go airborne quickly and to prevent them from spreading, air scrubbers will filter the air, removing the mold spores, leaving the air clear. 760-519-8466
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