Help Wet Carpet

[WHIPPED502]

The carpet in one of my rooms is wet. I noticed a small wet spot on my carpet this morning. I thought the kids had spilled some water. I cleaned it up and thought no big deal. I came home tonight and the spot is bigger. I start walking around the room and my socks are wet. I move furniture away from the wall that is on the outside of the house and the carpet is soaked. The original puddle is on the other side of the room about 15' away.
The house is about 14 years old on a concrete foundation. The room the water is in has about a 6" drop from the rest of the house. Sunk in living room. Can the water be coming from under the foundation? I want to pull up the carpet tomorrow to let it dry out and find where the water is coming from.The wife wants me to call someone to do it. If I pull it myself is there anything special I should do? I have torn out carpet to throw away, but not to try and save. Should I try and save it or get new? I'm sure I will just replace the pad. Thanks for any help.
John

[dexman38]

it could be a broken water line. if the first spot was near a exterior wall then it would be coming in from the outside. but if it was near the center of the room then it may be a slab leak.

[Dusty Times]

I don't know too much about carpet but it is possible with the amount of rain that it is seeping through from the outside. You can dig down beside your exterior footing and water proof that area so that it doesn't happen again.
You might want to wait until it stops raining. The weather proof material needs to be dry.

[C-2]

Be careful before contacting your insurance company. Water damage and subsequent mold claims are bad news. Your residence could get "blackballed", do some research before you call them.
Maybe some insurance peeps from this board can advise you better?

[Badger301]

Sucks to here the bad news. I would think its rain related also. You can probably eiminate the slab leak by making sure your waters not running and check your meter. I would also think you could save the carpet as well. Just dry it out. You can rent portable blowers at Home Depot this should do the trick. We used them in the office one time. Good Luck to you!

[EXTREMEBOATS]

Although there has been alot of rain it is possible that this a PLUMBING problem called a slab leak. You should at least call a plumber and explain the problem. If the carpet can be pulled up from a corner you should place fans under it to dry it as quickly as possible and you should be able to rent one. You should also apply some kind of mold inhibiter and use a dehumidifier which you should also be able to rent. Your airconditioner is a good dehumidifier but if you have a heat recovery system though it make things worse. Good Luck!! :idea:

[boatnam2]

i had a problem a couple of weeks ago with the carpet getting soaked i pulled up the wet section and leaned it against our bed and put fans on it dryed pretty quick like about a day or so.threw the pad away.i also had to remove a 4" section of drywall along the bottom of the wall where it leaked in from.pain in the ass but we had a claim on a water leak a few years ago and it is one of the worse things insurance companys frown on if you can handle it yourself do it.

[BiggusJimbus]

Easy way to check if it is a plumbing leak. Find your water meter and place a toothpick or something of that nature on the indicator. Don't use any water for 15 minutes or so, and see if the needle has moved from its original position. You might need to do this test a couple times as Ice makers and things of that nature can throw off the results.
If you have a line break in your slab, it's not going to be pretty.
If you have downspouts from your gutters outside of the wall where the water is coming in, make sure the water is being moved away from the house when it comes out. Also, make sure that your gutters are not clogged and there are no dams anywhere on your roof.
Good Luck. Hope it's not something serious.

[bullseye]

yes it could be a broken water pipe under the slab , i have done a few of these jobs before in v.v. you might want to shut off the valve to you hot water heater a if it is a hot water line your gas bill is also going to go up untill you get it fixed , call your insurance get them to pay for it it will cost you plumbers , carpet , concrete as you know everone in this area is busy

[WHIPPED502]

Thanks for all the replys. I think I am lucky. No movement in the water meter for four hours. I pulled back the carpet along the wall and there is a small amount of mud along the base boards. Since it hasn't been raining the carpet isn't getting more wet. What is the best way to prevent this from happening again? I was thinking of caulking the outside were the stucko meets the foundation. Along the metal strip. Would this help? Also would it help to pull the base board off and caulk behind it?
Thanks again,
John

[Dusty Times]

With a sunkin room water can leach through concrete where the drop is if not waterproofed.

[WHIPPED502]

Dusty Times what would be the best way to water proof?
Thanks John

[Scream]

There are plenty of waterproofing "paints" available. You'll have to pull the dirt away from the foundation and clean the area, paint the goop on and let it dry. Sounds like you might have a cracked slab. Nothing rare here in California. Try some caulking between the slab and the sill, or if there's a big crack (had one before) fill it with mortar or concrete patch. Good luck on the carpet, usually when it gets wet it's done.
Scream

[BiggusJimbus]

And you know how wives HATE to replace carpet.
(of course, then it's followed by paint, then couches, then accessories... Yep, gonna cost you either way)

[mike37]

Dusty Times what would be the best way to water proof?
Thanks John
1st thing get rain gutters if you don't have them
if you do add drains in your yard to get the water away from your house
if water pools up around the house you will keep having problems no mater how much waterproofing you do

[Badger301]

Dusty Times what would be the best way to water proof?
Thanks John
PM 21Daytona. He has a Waterproofing Company. He help me and a couple of others on this board as well. He's a great guy, lot's of help. Dont know if Victorville is in his area but he may be able to point you in the right direction.

[MRS FLYIN VEE]

if you shut the water down at the meter. it is not going to leak. so watch it when you turn it back on. to me it sounds like a foundation leak. if you are on a slab. sometimes the water piping is in the ceiling.
the only way you are going to see a leak when shutting it off at the meter is if it is before the meter. ( city side) do not shut down the meter. but keep an eye on it while it is on. keep the fixtures turned off and see if it moves. then you will know if it is plumbing. or structural. ;)

[Floored]

all concrete slabs have cracks in them and the sunken room can get water through the cracks. as it rains the water level raises and looks for the path of least resistance, your lowest room. the ground is fairley well saturated now and may not be easily fixable until a little drying out time of the ground around your home. when it dries out I would epoxy all slab cracks and seal the floor against moisture. my .002

[WHIPPED502]

Thanks again everyone for the advise. I pulled the carpet back and the edges that are on an outside wall are wet. I also pulled the moldings and there is a gap between the floor and dry wall so the dry wall is not wet. The tack strips for the carpets are all wet. The few places that the carpet was really wet are low spots in the foundation. No cracks in the foundation in this paticular room. The 2x4 on the footing is wet. Will this mold? Not much I can do with the outside right now since it is still raining. I plan on getting some heaters and fans tomorrow to dry the inside and caulk the the area between the footing and 2x4. Will this help? I am going to have to replace the pad. I will also probably replace the carpet. What sucks it is only 3 years old. I guess I am lucky that the room isn't that big. This is just a little pain in the butt. What does suck is that the house was going on the market Tues. I guess it will have to wait.
John

[boatnam2]

i used concrete silicon its clear worked great.i took a screw driver along the bottom of the wall where the stucco meets the slab and scraped a grove in it vacummed it real good,dryed it with my wet vac(the blower side)and layed a nice bead in the grove.i tryed a few other caulkings and the concrete stuff was by far the best.

[Dusty Times]

Dusty Times what would be the best way to water proof?
Thanks John
They also make a tar based coating almost like roofing tar that can be applied to the exterior concrete stem You will have to dig next it to expose it. Don't know if its worth your headache if your are selling or just reseal the exposed areas.

[Mandelon]

Don't caulk the gap at the weep screed, the metal flashing that terminates the stucco coat against the slab. Water is supposed to come out those holes. There should be a distance of at least an inch or two between that weep screed and the ground outside. The more, the better.
You want to keep the exterior surfaces sloped so that surface water is moved away from the foundation quickly. Do not allow water to puddle, pond, or settle next to the foundation. A good rule is 1/4 to 1/2" a foot drop for a minimum of 5 feet.
Any rain gutters/downspouts should terminate well away from the foundation. Extend the downspouts tails if necessary, or put them into a drain line that dumps well away from the home.
Pull the baseboard anytime there is a moisture issue like that. Mold grows easily behind baseboard, especially the MDF type. Drywall may actually come with mold spores in it. It is made with recycled materials that can be moldy. All you need to do is add water. :eek:
Man--->IAQA Certified Mold Remediator<-----delon :wink: