Hopefully someone can offer some guidance on a problem I have with my water heater.
It would seem that the boneheads that built my house 7 years ago failed to put the hot water heater in a location where the T&P relief valve can safely dump water to a drain. The water heater is installed in a small closet, below grade, and was placed on top of carpeting, underlay, and then the concrete foundation. I didn't even realize that it was normal for the T&P relief valve to activate periodically - I thought it was in the event of a catastrophic failure, but I now know that's not the case.
I just noticed that the carpeting is completely soaked, and there's mold growing in the carpet. I'm pretty sure it's not leaking from anywhere, so I have to assume the T&P relief valve is doing its thing.
There's no drain anywhere near the heater. Is there another alternative to placing a bucket under the drain tube?
On a side note, I'm not quite sure why the T&P valve would be activating so much lately, unless it's because we've been using more hot water since the arrival of our first child. I don't think the moisture problem in the water heater closet has been going on for long. I've been checking the drain tube periodically, and it doesn't appear there's a slow leak or anything.
Any advice?