 source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Aug 7, 2022 10:59 PM
 source of water? (by plenty [MO]) Aug 8, 2022 6:48 AM
source of water? (by Steve [MA]) Aug 8, 2022 6:49 AM
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Aug 8, 2022 8:40 AM
source of water? (by allyM [NJ]) Aug 8, 2022 10:51 AM
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Aug 8, 2022 11:26 AM
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Aug 8, 2022 11:28 AM
source of water? (by Nicole [PA]) Aug 8, 2022 12:43 PM
source of water? (by Vee [OH]) Aug 8, 2022 8:34 PM
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Aug 8, 2022 10:23 PM
source of water? (by Wilma [PA]) Aug 9, 2022 1:45 PM
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Posted on: Aug 7, 2022 10:59 PM
Message:
I have a duplex and the tenant in the lower level informed me a couple weeks ago after a heavy rain that there was water on the floor coming from two opposite walls in the kitchen and met in the middle of the floor.
If you walk into the room from the back of the kitchen, you face the front of the house with a window (outside wall). On your left is another exterior wall with a window in the middle and a sink right below the window. And on your right is an inside wall with the refrigerator on.
I went over last time it happened and checked it out. Looked under the sink and noticed water on the base of the cabinet. Took everything out. Ran the water and garbage disposal and the disposal was leaking. Had a plumber change out the garbage disposal. Took care of the problem (or so I thought). Then checked out the refrigerator. PUlled it out from the wall, sure enough there was water under the refrigerator. Ran the water dispenser and there was water coming from underneath the refrigerator. In talking to the tenant, she said there was a box of frozen food that had fallen down to the bottom shelf. (I didn't see it, but I surmise that that box of frozen food was plugging up the drain. Took off the back panel of the freezer (side by side), there was a little bit of water on the shelf, but I thought it was from the unit being un plugged and water from the ice dispenser melting. Okay. So I thought I fixed that problem and I have been checking in the tenant regularly for an update, and up until now everything has been dry.
Got another call from the tenant again this morning telling me (with pictures) that the water had returned. Same place from underneath frige and again coming from u nder the sink. We had another heavy rain over night last night and into this morning. On the wall where the sink is, there is a gutter that is up on the second story and there is a short one just to the right of the sink on the first level.
On the wall where the refrigerator is, the roof has a a valley. I checked in the basement and didn't see any signs of water. My next thought is maybe a leak in the roof somewhere or that the gutters may be plugged. I checked with the tenant upstairs and she does not see any obvious signs of water anywhere, and last time I was in the lower unit, I didn't see any signs of water on any of the walls or ceiling. I will be stopping by tomorrow to take another look.
It's very mysterious that the water is coming in in the same place, both times after a heavy rain, but yet the last time it happened, I thought I had fixed the prob lem on both sides.
Any suggestions?
--104.231.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by plenty [MO]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 6:48 AM
Message:
Is there a vent pipe from the kitchen on the roof? Water follows interesting paths! Hope other's come along with the solution! What a mystery! --172.58.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by Steve [MA]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 6:49 AM
Message:
Is there a plumbing vent going through the roof in this area? Are there any side wall penetrations (exhaust fan, light fixtures, ac unit, etc) in this area? What type of siding is on the house? Did you check the window head flashings?
It's possible that during wind driven rain could be entering through anyone of these places during a heavy rain. Since it appears as though the leaks stopped after you addressed the disposal & ice maker issues, I'm guessing that your water is coming from the exterior. --72.93.xxx.xx |
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 8:40 AM
Message:
No plumbing vent that I am aware of but I will check. No ac unit in the area. No exhaust van. There is a light fixture above the sink and one in the middle of the room ceiling. House has either vinyl or aluminum siding. I have not checked the window head flashings, but will do that. --104.231.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by allyM [NJ]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 10:51 AM
Message:
where does the vent for the exhaust fan go out?? If it's on the roof water could be coming in there and running down. The other thing could be the chimney flashing. Is the chimney over this kitchen? Beyond that, does the upstairs neighbor have a window over these leaks that could be left open by her or him? Chimney flashing could cause a leak almost anywhere because it runs along beams. --69.141.xxx.xx |
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 11:26 AM
Message:
If you are referring to the stove exhaust fan, there isn't one. There is a microwave over the stove, and there is an exhaust fan with grates on the bottom side of the microwave. I had thought about the chimney flashing. The chimney is located one room over and one room back, so kind of in the middle of the house but certainly not over this kitchen. I will check with the window up above in the second story. Thanks for the suggestion. --104.231.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 11:28 AM
Message:
Not sure if I had mentioned this in my original post or not, but the interior wall where the refrigerator is, the first time this happened when I pulled the refrigerator out, I ran the water dispenser, and as I was running the water dispenser, I could clearly see water coming from underneath the fridge. --104.231.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by Nicole [PA]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 12:43 PM
Message:
is the drain clogged so that when the defrost cycle runs the water doesn't have anywhere to flow? --98.237.xxx.xx |
source of water? (by Vee [OH]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 8:34 PM
Message:
Just to let you all know seldom does a flat bottom sink have a vent, sinks with conical shapes have vents because the gravity induced flow, needs air to prevent the drawing fluid from other traps creating a path for sewer gases to find a way into the living space. --76.190.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by Marcia [WI]) Posted on: Aug 8, 2022 10:23 PM
Message:
UPDATE ON WATER SOURCE: sO i went over to the duplex today to check it out again. Looked underneath the sink and yes, there was some water under there again, but this time not coming through under the cabinet. There is a drawer on the very bottom of the cabinet and so the space underneath the sink isn't as big as a usual one. Ran the water, no leaks below. Ran the garbage disposal, again, no leaks from there. One last possible source--the dishwasher. The tenant said she would be running the dishwasher this evening. Lo and behold, received a text message either while or after she was running it telling me that there was water leaking under the sink again. Ok. that said. so it was either solely the dishwasher to begin with or the garbage disposal AND the dishwasher. --104.231.xxx.xxx |
source of water? (by Wilma [PA]) Posted on: Aug 9, 2022 1:45 PM
Message:
We've all been there - there's a water leak, and it takes multiple stabs to figure out where the water is coming from. As someone here used to say "Water always wins."
Thanks for sharing! --98.114.xxx.xxx |
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