Do I have a leak or can water seep for a week or more?

[herkdrvr]

Greetings Plumbing Professionals,

EDIT TO ASK: What about a supply line issue? The discharge rate doesn't seem to vary.

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TL;DR: I had a dishwasher leak. Water is still coming out from our 1st level a week later. Could this be normal?

PICTURES HERE: http://imgur.com/a/DIWne

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Hopefully someone can give me some ideas. I hope to answer whether or not I have a leak or if residual water is just going to continue seeping out (and for how long).

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Thu 9 Mar (morning): Dishwasher overflows. Water cascades from 2nd floor through hole in floor and exits out the bathroom directly beneath. Water coming out of light fixture, circulation fan, and HVAC vent. Luckily, we caught this as it happened, so water was immediately shut off & restored once we cleaned up all the water.

Thu 9 Mar (afternoon): Plumber says it's not a plumbing issue. It's an appliance issue. Appliance repair guy will be here Monday, 13 Mar.

Fri 10 Mar: No issues (not using dishwasher).

Sat 11 Mar (morning): Discover a wet spot on the the floor on 1st level. An arc of water has exited the wall dividing the bathroom and my home office. Makes sense to me since this is the same bathroom where the water came pouring out of the ceiling.

Sat 11 Mar (afternoon): Water extracted, 1x dehumidifier, 2x industrial fans to dry the area.

Mon 13 Mar: Dishwasher fixed.

Wed 15 Mar: Drying equipment removed.

Thu 16 Mar: Water still exiting into carpet.

Fri 17 Mar: Pull carpet, pull all padding. Reexamine dishwasher (no leaks).

Plumber comes to the home, examines shower in the bathroom I mentioned earlier, washer/dryer connections (also 1st level), dishwasher, and hot water heater. Conducts a "pressure test" using spigot in garage as a test point & again via the hot water heater. We have 60-65 psi here & he said there's no leak.

We also cut a small 4" x 4" hole in the drywall & saw no leaks.

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Water coming in is clean--doesn't stink like sewage.

What else can I / should I check? What else might be leaking?

Could it be that residual water is just seeping out and will for some time?

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Thanks in advance!

Herkdrvr

 

[frodo]

damn....the hits just keep coming.

you said you had a dishwasher leak, that is what started all of this ?

if the dishwasher is fixed, i would ASSUME that it was not fixed correctly, or is still leaking.

this is what i would do,

1--pull the lower panel off of the dishwasher, lay on your tummy with a lflash light and run the washer thru all cycles.
check for any water

next, if you see any water or seeparge under the dishwasher

turn off the water , disconnect the water under the dishwasher NOT under the sink
disconect the power under the washer
disconnect the drain pull the washer out
now look for water. buy a compression cap, cap the water line and turn it on

also, that carpet, hs a pad under it, it needs to be lifted and the pad dried out or removed
you water may be coming from the soaked carpet and pad

if you have insurance. put a claim in for new carpeting

 

[herkdrvr]

Frodo,

Thanks for the reply.

No water under the dishwasher, and yes, all the padding was pulled & gone per the timeline above.

Anywhere else? Supply line?

Thanks again.

 

[frodo]

a mystery.

hate to tell you this, but you need to cut shet rock

behind every fixture that is in the wet area, you have water either from a manifold leak or from under the slab.

i suspct a base board nail in the pipe

i have seen nails in a pipe and not leak for 10 years, then one day the nails rusts into and flood city

start with where the gyser was that you witnessed

cut behind the shower ,

 

[SHEPLMBR]

Do you notice it more when it rains? Sometimes when a roof collar for vents is cracked and worn, water will seep past. That water can run down several feet of pipe before it drips. I had one in my house go from roof past bathroom to basement before it dripped to floor.

 

[frodo]

Do you notice it more when it rains? Sometimes when a roof collar for vents is cracked and worn, water will seep past. That water can run down several feet of pipe before it drips. I had one in my house go from roof past bathroom to basement before it dripped to floor.

good question

 

[SHEPLMBR]

good question

I know.....

 

[herkdrvr]

@Frodo: There are no fixtures directly in the wet area. I understand re: cutting into the drywall. However, there's not a single spot of water on the drywall or the baseboards. Slab leak--very possible. Having someone come out tomorrow to inspect & I'll let you know.

@She-Plmbr: I'm in VA as well...but closer to DC. Interesting you asked about the roof vent b/c we did indeed have a roof collar leak last year. The entire roof was redone & we haven't had a leak since. I went into the attic area while it was raining yesterday & didn't notice anything.

Any thoughts on slab leaks?

 

[frodo]

I went to the owner of Readers Digest and found a slab leak, under a gold inlay terrazio floor
hand made and installed by an Italian father and son team from Italy
the pressure was on, sweat beading on my forehead, "X" marked the spot.
they flew the father son back from Italy to cut the floor in the design, so it would not be seen as a patch.
after the floor was removed the leak was within 6'' of the "X"
I was a hero that day, but could have been a zero real easy, to easy, to much stress
who do you ask ,for a second opinion when you are the one to ask LOL

your floor, before i busted concrete, i would check plumbing manifolds FIRST
very easy for a manifold leak, to leak into the sleeve coming up thru the floor.
causing the water to go under the floor,

 

[herkdrvr]

@Frodo: Copy sir...plumbing manifolds. I had to Google and search for what exactly that is. I don't have any of the pretty looking manifolds like I saw on Google. Just a maze of pipes in the hot water closet area and pipes under each of the sinks, toilets etc. Can you tell me more specifically where the manifold/sleeves are?

BTW...your Italian story was great.

 

[frodo]

if your piping is under the slab, joints are not allowed.
so tubing is looped from fixture to fixture, then manifolded togather about 6'' above the floor

 

[herkdrvr]

Wow...OK...thank you!