Water heater leaked, carnage ensued...

[GobBluth]

LSS: Bottom of water heater rusted out, emptied contents of said heater into the hallway/kitchen/laundry room.

I got under the house and none of the floor joists are wet, so either my carpet pad soaked it all up or it magically vanished. Fast forward, I've dried out the sub-floor, replaced the carpet pad, and the ruined carpet but now, in my kitchen, I have a "bubble" in my laminate wood flooring. It's near the door to the laundry room and its about 2'x2'. It isn't a big bubble but it feels slightly squishy when you walk over it.

The carpet was no problem, but I'm totally lost on what do you about my kitchen floor. I also checked the drywall around where it leaked, no damage noted.

Moved from OT.
admin allisolm

 

[deadlyapp]

Had the same thing happen in my childhood home where the linoleum floor bubbled up after the dishwasher decided to hose out on us. We never fixed it as it basically means pulling up the old plywood (which is usually what swells up and causes the bubble). It's possible the laminate is all that bubbled, in which case you can possibly pull up a few boards and replace them (if you can still find matching laminate!).

 

[shortylickens]

Our utility room has a floor drain specifically for this reason.

 

[herrjimbo]

Mine is in the basement, fortunately. Had 2 go out in 38 years. My next one, should it take a dump, is going to be tankless. No flooding plus a whole lot less room.

I think you're going to have to rip the linoleum out to see how much wood damage there is underneath.

 

[Fardringle]

My water heater is in a "closet" with a concrete floor and a storm drain so if it ever does leak, the water just goes right down the drain. I haven't had one leak yet, but I like knowing that it won't destroy the house if it ever happens.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I had a slight leak form around the threads on mine. After that, I ran a new gas line to switch from electric and went tankless. The biggest advantage was being able to move the water heater into my crawlspace and out of my living space.

The biggest disadvantage is that my house is all one level and the water heater is still on the opposite side of the house from the water line and bathrooms....so water has to travel the length of the house and back to reach the primary 2 bathrooms. The water heater itself works great, but the typical 10 second cold water delay is about 45 seconds after the lines are cleared of the cold water....only about 5 seconds slower than when we had a tank water heater though.

Price out at Rinnai 8 GPM gas tankless water heaters if you can. They're excellent.

 

[NetWareHead]

Sorry to say but the wood floor is toast, its warped. it might go back to normal once it dries out.... If not you are looking at replacing the floor.

 

[GobBluth]

I had a slight leak form around the threads on mine. After that, I ran a new gas line to switch from electric and went tankless. The biggest advantage was being able to move the water heater into my crawlspace and out of my living space.

The biggest disadvantage is that my house is all one level and the water heater is still on the opposite side of the house from the water line and bathrooms....so water has to travel the length of the house and back to reach the primary 2 bathrooms. The water heater itself works great, but the typical 10 second cold water delay is about 45 seconds after the lines are cleared of the cold water....only about 5 seconds slower than when we had a tank water heater though.

Price out at Rinnai 8 GPM gas tankless water heaters if you can. They're excellent.

Sadly, I already replaced the water heater, I should have just bit the bullet and bought a tankless when I had the change. Well, I wonder if replacing the floor is less than my deductible on my HOI. If I had really thought this out I would have filed a claim to replace the heater/carpet/kitchen floor. Hindsight is always 20/20 though.

 

[BD231]

Ooops

 

[shortylickens]

Mine is in the basement, fortunately. Had 2 go out in 38 years. My next one, should it take a dump, is going to be tankless. No flooding plus a whole lot less room.

I think you're going to have to rip the linoleum out to see how much wood damage there is underneath.

My grandma got a tankless heater and she says its the greatest thing since sliced bread.

FYI: She remembers unsliced bread.

 

[spacejamz]

so glad my water heater is in the garage...its about 13 years old though and I only regularly flushed it the first 5 years I had...not sure if I should be pre-emptive and just get a new one now or wait till the crap hits the fan....

it is an electric one but they ran a gas line out to it so when I get a new one, I can see which one would be cheaper to operate...gonna suck trying to figure out what natural gas prices are gonna do in the next 15 years though...