What Should I Do If My Hot Water Heater Leaks and the Floor in My Palmdale Pantry Gets Wet?

8/28/2020 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO, we can help with your Palmdale hot water heater leak.

For Professional Water Mitigation Efforts After Your Water Heater in Your Palmdale Home Breaks and Leaks Call SERVPRO

Any appliance in your house in Palmdale that has water running in and out of it has the chance of malfunctioning and leaking. Sometimes your water heater will work fine for years, and then all of a sudden, a leak in the bottom of it develops. The water will then follow gravity and soak into your vinyl flooring and to the subfloor underneath it.

What can you do if my wood subflooring gets wet after my water heater leaks?

During most water mitigation cases in Palmdale, our SERVPRO technicians have to work towards restoring subfloors that have got wet. Most subfloors in residential buildings are either plywood or oriented strand board (OSB). Plywood is composed of multiple veneer panels bound together with a variety of resins and adhesives. OSB is manufactured similarly by binding strands and wood fibers together.

• Inspection Process: The best tool to use when inspecting wood subfloors is a penetrating moisture meter. The prongs of the instrument can be driven through carpet or vinyl flooring to see whether moisture traveled through the plywood or OSB. We can also use a hammer probe attachment to determine the moisture content in different levels of the subfloor being top, middle, and bottom. If, during the inspection, we notice that the subfloor is bowed or warped, then sections of your subfloor may have to be removed and replaced.
• Can Subfloors Be Restored?: Most wooden subfloors are durable and semi-porous, so they are considered restorable in most situations. Problems can occur if plywood or OSB stays wet for too long, but it can withstand moisture better than engineered wood. However, plywood can delaminate, OSB can disintegrate, and both can swell, warp, or buckle, which could cause them to have to be replaced.
• How to Dry it Out: Plywood and OSB can usually both be dried out efficiently using air movers and dehumidifiers, and in most cases, no specialty equipment is needed.

If you notice that your pantry floor is retaining moisture after your water heater leaks, call SERVPRO of Palmdale North at (661) 526-3649. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.