Plumbing Issues

[danikasue]

Hi everyone!
Just bought myself a repo'd 1996 Skyline with a few issues. So far I've replaced the inner workings of a toilet tank, rewired an electrical outlet, and fixed a dripping kitchen faucet. Now I've run into a problem I'm not entirely sure how to fix properly.
While connecting a hose to my outside tap I noticed some dripping from the underbelly. Further inspection revealed soaking wet insulation coated in food particles directly underneath my kitchen drain pipe. Joists look fine, just looks like the insulation was ruined. Problem is I'm not sure how to fix the drain pipe or even if it's an old or new leak. When I ran water down the sink and went outside I couldn't see any obvious leak although someone had previously put duct tape on one area of the drain pipe. There was an obvious leak under the sink at one point in time because the bottom of the cabinet was ruined. The house had been empty for months until the repo company started repairs. Would the insulation have held onto the water for that long?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

[JD]

Hi danikasue,

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on the new home purchase.

Just from the sounds of it, since you do not see large amount of water leaking when the sink is draining, I am thinking that at some point the drain line came apart and that is how the food particles got there. The small leak I think you still have and where the plumbing came apart may be where the duct tape is. It is possible that there is another leak or even an incoming fresh water leak causing the small drip.

To find out and repair what the problem is, you will need to open up a good sized area of the vapor barrier around this leak. Pull out all wet insulation and let the area dry out while making repairs. Once the insulation is removed, look very closely for a incoming water leak. A flash light will help here. If you see no water leaking, have someone run water into the sink while watching. When you see a leak, trace it down to see if it is coming from the black drain pipe or from the water lines. You should be able to find the leak.

The wet insulation needs to be removed, so opening up the vapor barrier is necessary anyway. Let us know what you find, OK?

JD

[danikasue]

Thank you! I've already pulled out as much insulation as I could reach but had to stop when the rain started. I did find a minor leak from the hot water inlet not being tight enough but got that fixed right quick LOL.....I'll keep you posted as to what I find

[danikasue]

Update!!.....after a few days of work (and some rain)..I was finally able to get back to my leak issue....Turns out it was much ado about nothing! The leak must have been old, I sat for twenty minutes while running the dishwasher and saw not even one drip! I replaced the insulation leaving the belly open a slight bit and rechecked two days later. The insulation was bone dry and now all that's left is to seal up the belly and relax

[Yanita]

Hi,

Make sure to replace the insulation, all that had gotten wet. It looses its R value once it is damaged.

Yanita