Several months ago an under-the-bathroom-sink water leak did extensive damage to one part of the house.
At first the leak was small and was coming from the angle stop that controls the flow of hot water to the faucet above. When I went to try to shut off (close) the valve by rotating the handhold part clockwise, the handhold part just plain broke off (it was made of plastic) and a rush of water came streaming out. It continued until such time that I was able to shut off the flow of water to the house from the main control valve.
Once I did that, the super-involved process of cleaning up came next. In the meantime, I installed a replacement angle stop so as to be able to turn water back on to the house.
The company that helped begin the mitigation process brought in all kinds of mitigating or remediating devices to prevent mold from forming and building up in the affected sheet rock, etc. In its arsenal, included was moisture meters, industrial-strength fans, a dehumidifier, a drill to drill holes in the lower portion of affected walls once baseboards were removed. The fans were on 24 hours a day for at least seven days straight if not longer.
Before all such drying devices (fans and dehumidifier that were used to thoroughly dry all affected wall-interior and exterior areas in this case) were removed, a moisture meter was used to check for moisture content and all was deemed to be dry and good to go. The humidity level in the affected area was also checked.
More critically, the thing to keep in mind here is that mold did not form — there was no evidence of it being present. Since mold can pose a health hazard, as I saw things and as far as I was concerned, it was essential to guard against mold’s even forming.
At any rate, once the mitigation work was completed, the chore then before me was to get the affected bathroom restored. That process took all of three weeks total before all was said and done.
The long and short of it is that new angle stops have now been installed for the sink supplies as well as for the toilet supply. Affected walls and flooring have since been repaired. Throw in a bathroom upgrade, and all in all, the upgrade/restoration work took the better part of three weeks to get completed.
In hindsight, I’m glad all the required work is now in the rear-view mirror and that I have full use of the bathroom once again.
Updated: Feb. 15, 2025 at 7:46 a.m. PST.
Above and corresponding, connected home-page-featured images: Alan Kandel
— Alan Kandel
Copyrighted material.