Mysterious Water on Carpet

I came home from a week-long vacation to find the carpet in the doorway to my bedroom wet. It didn't appear wet at first, but when you step on it, water would seem to seep up from the carpet pad. I discovered by stomping around a bit that the water seems to continue a few feet down the wall. I have no idea where it came from. There is a bathroom on the other side of the wall, but I see no signs of any leakage in there. Could a leaking pipe in the wall cause the carpet in the bedroom to be wet, but show no signs in the bathroom?

And where do I go from here? I have no idea if the problem is still happening or if it was a one time thing. I guess need to get a wet vac and dry the carpet as best as I can and then see if it gets wet again.

Does anyone have any other suggestions? If this is a sign of a larger problem, I know I need to get it taken care of as soon as possible.

Reply to
onetoughmonkey
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AC condensate drain pan clogged? Pierced water line or waste line by a drywall screw that finally rusted away? Leaking bowl gasket? Need more info. I would suggest opening the wall since you want everything to dry out, thus preventing mold. I would also suggest spraying a 10% bleach and water solution on the affected area, to cut down on mold growth. Mold is LETHAL if it gets growing.

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Reply to
chuckster

The doorway with the wet carpet is nowhere near the AC drain pan. And the drywall and basebard etc. next to the affected carpet is in perfect condition. They show no signs of water damage. And again, the bathroom on the other side of the wall has no signs of water damage or leaking. I hate to bust open the wall unnecessarily. If I was to vacuum up the water and wait to see if the problem persists, and it does, what type of expert should I call? A plumber?

Is there any chance this could be a foundati> AC condensate drain pan clogged? Pierced water line or waste line by a

Reply to
onetoughmonkey

You got water soaking up the carpet and think you don't "have a major problem" and expect it to go away on its own yet "take care of it sooner rather than later"? Somehow, those don't go together. :(

  1. You already have a problem--how "major" it is is yet to be determined. It is almost certainly not going to fix itself.
  2. Do you know where the A/C condensate drain runs? It certainly isn't unheard of for one to have been run through an interior "wet wall" to an existing drain
  3. It is quite possible for something like the stool flange to be seeping and running under the baseplate to be sucked up by the carpet pad and show no other sign. It's also quite possible it could be a pinhole similar to the other suggestion running down a stud or a supply line and wicking along the baseplate as noted. It undoubtedly isn't a big leak in supply lines or it would have shown something on the wallboard as you note, but there could be something deflecting it from hitting the wallboard directly.
  4. If you aren't going to investigate on your own, better call the plumber Monday AM
  5. The door is _probably_ a red herr> The doorway with the wet carpet is nowhere near the AC drain pan. And
Reply to
dpb

OPEN THE WALL! Any one who comes out will do this and charge you a fee, even if they can't fix it. Is the foundation wet? Clogged gutters? Missing some flashing? Dry the area and spray some water in the area with a garden hose. Roof leaks will find their way to the floor this way too. HUGE TIP! Open the wall, spray with bleach solution, and let it dry to prevent mold growth. I feel your pain on opening the wall but mold will take over and you will have MORE problems, and then you will have to open the entire room to remove it. Mold loves dark, damp areas, and grows fast. Wall repair is cheap and easily done if you make neat cuts, with a jab saw.

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Reply to
chuckster

Yes, unless you spot the cause of that leak immediately and it is outside the wall, open the wall. Wet Vac that water up! Put a fan or blower on it to get air moving briskly. spray a little bleach water on the inside wall if you want to, but be careful that stuff will discolor most carpets.

It could be a leaking shower pan. It could be any number of things suggested by others here. You must deal with this immediately. Notify your insurance agent; you don't have to make a claim. He'll tell you what to do. You have a responsibility to mitigate the damages that are happening. If you let them go your insurance may not cover damage that might have otherwise been covered. It is probably minor right now, but it will get worse.

If you can dry it up, watch it! If the water comes back immediately, it's probably a leak in the water line. Feel it! Is it hot or cold. Smell it! If the new water smells bad, then that might tell you something. If it gets worse after a bath or shower, that tells you something. If it gets worse after you flush the toilet.... If it only happens on very hot humid days when the compressor is working overtime....all these things can tell you something. The plumber charges by the hour and the more you can tell him, the less time it will take........if it is plumbing. It could be a leak in a roof, or even in a pipe in the slab where a plate was fastened to the floor by a Hilti or Ramset and the fastener nicked a pipe in the slab, but it only now broke through all the way.

You caught this thing in the early stage. Don't delay. Get it repaired quickly.

Randy R. Cox

Reply to
Randy Cox

May we assume that this is slab construction?? If so, the bath supply lines (Hot/Cold) are likely buried in the slab. And leaking...

Step #1 is Turn the Main water supply valve off now. (And OFF when leaving ofr vacation...)

Then you can call the insurance agent.

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

you've gotten many good suggestions.

Wet vac he carpet thoroghly. At the very least, peel back the carpet and pad so you get look at the slab. (assuming slab foundation). dry floor well and look for leaks. Likely there is a seam in the carpet at the door. cut the threads of this seam to allow pulling carpet and pad back.

lee h

Reply to
lee houston

The ORIGINAL poster will be posting next month about a SERIOUS mold problem and wants help on how to deal with it without opening the wall. Just wait and see. He recieved many tips but no response back yet.

lee houst> you've gotten many good suggestions.

Reply to
chuckster

I gotta agree with the poster who suggested a leak in a slab line, especially since no one was home for a week. You should probably pull the carpet and pad up anyway. The pad will have to be replaced or thoroughly dried before the carpet can be reinstalled after the leak is found and fixed. Once the carpet is up, you can vac the floor as dry as you can and if /when more water appears, you should be able to see where it is coming from. If it is indeed a leak in the slab, the best bet would be to have them rerouted and bypass the slab lines. If both hot and cold are in the affected area, do both, not just the one that is leaking. Larry

Reply to
lp13-30

Release the carpet from the base edge and see if you can trace the water. Often a baseboard nail will get driven into a pipe where it comes up through the bottom plate. This can be fairly easily repaired by a plumber. You can remove a small piece of sheetrock after pulling a section of the base to a joint and feel for wetness. Cut the paint line at the base top with a sharp knife to prevent peeling the paint up the rock. Measure from the door to bath faucets/supplies to locate wall piping areas to narrow your search.

Reply to
Mr.E

Please post a reference to an authoritative study saying mold is lethal. I don't believe you'll find one. Just an urban myth.

chuckster wrote:

Reply to
Stubby

let's see, he posted at about 1530, and you post the above a few hrs later ?

dayyuum ! All that "LETHAL" mold must have done him in !

Reply to
Rasillon

wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@35g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...

Twice over a two year period, I had a hot water supply line break under the slab of my Arizona house. The first time I noticed the sound of water running and a lack of hot water. All of the water stayed under the slab however there was enough damage under the slab that I began to get some serious wall cracks very soon from settling. Insurance company said "no water above the slab, no claim". The second time the water came up into the kitchen between the slab and the outer foundation wall. This time insurance company paid for damage to kitchen cabinets but that's all. Both times I had to eat the cost of re-routing the water lines around the leak. The first time the insurance agent came out and checked the carpet throughout the house, in the closets, everywhere looking for some water. If I had know ahead of time what he was going to be looking for, a bucket of water thrown in a closet would have saved me some money. The plumber was able to locate the leaks with the use of a very sensitive listening device. One word of caution....I had a 40 year history with my insurance company so there were no repercussions from filing a water damage claim but I've heard of some horror stories that have happened to people who have made claims. Even by asking their agent about water damage a red flag will be put in their file. This can stay with the house making later sale difficult as the house can become un insurable except through "high risk" insurance companies. Sorry for the long post, Tom G.

Reply to
Tom G

Would you consider the National Institutes of Health authoritative?

"Aflatoxin is the best characterized of the potential human mycotoxin carcinogens. While it is acutely lethal in large amounts, chronic low-level exposure produces cancer, particularly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in many animal species. It is thought to be the most potent liver carcinogen for a variety of species including humans..."

Other molds also considered.

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Reply to
HeyBub

Thank you. I will forward to Dr. Dean Edell, the TalkRadio doctor that constantly challenges the mold crowd. In all fairness, we need to see may studies that reach the same conclusion.

Reply to
Stubby

Actually, you need to read the report thoroughly.... I found the following in the section on "problems with the reports....

"Thus, despite the claim that there was a causal association between moldy houses and wheezing, there was no supporting objective evidence. Some studies which claim that moisture and mold were associated with respiratory infections, cough, and wheezing (again with no objective measures) also fail to show differences in asthma prevalence between case and control schools (409, 410). Other authors report that despite claims of symptoms being more prevalent in case groups (reporting exposure to fungi, pets, mold odor, and dampness), actual asthma prevalence was no different (177)."

Reply to
Stubby

My 1970 slab ranch house started producing blue spots in the white kitchen linoleum. The cause was leakage from the radiant heating pipes in the concrete slab where the lime was attacking the copper producing pinhole leaks.

I installed baseboard (SlantFin) radiators around the perimeter of the house and abandoned the old radiant heating system. (GF unhappy because the floor is not warm during winter!) I also replaced the fresh water system because the hot water runs were destined to be attacked similarly.

I used a hammer drill to chisel a slot in the slab to get passed the doorways. Going up and over would produce a risk of freezing in the attic. It has worked well for several years, heating bills have decreased because were not warming the globe with heat below the slab anymore. In 1970 they didn't insulate below the slab because oil was cheap.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Reply to
Stubby

Reply to
onetoughmonkey

Am I going to put my health in the hands of a "Radio Expert"? - I think not! Mold is hazardous to most of the population, and some "experts" think that is what killed the explorerers who entered King Tuts Tomb. Try to sell a house with mold. There are many links to mold, so don't just listen to one person. Does anyone remember when Asbestos was considered safe??

Stubby wrote:

Reply to
chuckster

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