How long do you figure my water heater has been leaking?
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 2:46 pm
I'm wondering if my water heater has been leaking for more than a month as there is a puddle underneath my home and the moistuire has spread a good deal into the particle board underneath the carpeting. I would say the moisture has spread around 6 or 7 feet from the water heater on the floor and has moved about 6 inches up the drywall of the surrounding walls.
Me and my friend discovered it last week by noticing the wet floor in the other room and we had to get a plumber to reroute our water past the water heater as there is no shut off valve. A mobile home repair company person just came this morning and did not say much because he has dealt with this more than once before. Our heater was 13 years old and it is clearly corroded on the bottom. Wish we would have been checking it more often. I'm wondering if here in Northwest Wisconsin where the temps are going down into the high 20's at night, if we should worry about mold and mildew inside the floors and walls. We started drying it out on Sunday with fans and are still doing it today. It seems to be dry on the surface but I am worried about the insides and underneath. Should I remove some of the skirting during the day to let more air in? I can put wire mesh around the openings to keep mice out. It also seems as though the carpeting is not glued down but it is tacked down around the edges. Would it be good to undo the staples and peel the capet back to further dry it out?
It looks like the insurance adjuster will not be here til Monday! That stinks as we will be without hot water til then. I wonder what he is gonna say? If he is gonna hold us acountable for the damages it caused by us not checking it monthly. I hope not. Anybody been through this before? It would be nice to hear some feed back from anyone, please. Thank you, Royce.
Me and my friend discovered it last week by noticing the wet floor in the other room and we had to get a plumber to reroute our water past the water heater as there is no shut off valve. A mobile home repair company person just came this morning and did not say much because he has dealt with this more than once before. Our heater was 13 years old and it is clearly corroded on the bottom. Wish we would have been checking it more often. I'm wondering if here in Northwest Wisconsin where the temps are going down into the high 20's at night, if we should worry about mold and mildew inside the floors and walls. We started drying it out on Sunday with fans and are still doing it today. It seems to be dry on the surface but I am worried about the insides and underneath. Should I remove some of the skirting during the day to let more air in? I can put wire mesh around the openings to keep mice out. It also seems as though the carpeting is not glued down but it is tacked down around the edges. Would it be good to undo the staples and peel the capet back to further dry it out?
It looks like the insurance adjuster will not be here til Monday! That stinks as we will be without hot water til then. I wonder what he is gonna say? If he is gonna hold us acountable for the damages it caused by us not checking it monthly. I hope not. Anybody been through this before? It would be nice to hear some feed back from anyone, please. Thank you, Royce.