Hi All,
I have today discovered the washing machine has been leaking for an unknown amount of time at the back, it was tucked under the counter and due to the floor level tilting slightly back the water has been dripping out onto and then under the floorboards,
I have for some time suspected a leak somewhere as we have been getting bad condensation especially on the patio doors (next to the washing machine).
I pulled up the carpet under the patio doors a week ago (which itself was moldy under the underlay, this was under the patio doors and found the earth/rubble underneath damp, not soaking but damp.
I carried on pulling up the carpet and it got drier and up to the washing machine was bone dry which made me think it was damp or a dpc issue under the patio door.
As luck, if you call it, would have it today the washing machine failed to drain properly, has done this in the past and was the same thing small toddler sock in the filter. I had to pull the entire washing machine out to tilt at 45 degrees to pull out the filter without soaking the floor.
As I pulled it out noticed at the back damp carpet pulled this up really soaked floorboards and carpet ruined so cut it right back well before washing machine and binned, washing machine also being 10 years old is now in the garden.
I have had a fan heater on and off for a while today along with the patio doors open when it was not raining to get some fresh air in, which has dried the bare floorboards quite well and again cutback carpet and underlay to remove anything which had gone moldy or could go moldy.
My question after all that is what should I do about the crawl space underneath the floorboards as its a suspended floor and there is a gap between the floorboards and the earth of around 1/2 - 3/4 of a meter (not level at all.
There are airbricks all round and we renovated the place in 2011-2012 during that time I had the floorboards up in places for doing radiators wiring etc and didnt notice any damp but at same time checked the airbricks were not blocked.
Will this space dry out and given I dont know how long it has been leaking condensation only started when the weather turned cold, I am concerned given how long it may have been there might be a mold problem underneath. I cannot get the floorboards up where the washing machine was as the kitchen has been fitted around it including sink dishwasher etc so cannot pull it up to investigate any further but wondered if I am concerned about nothing.
Massive difference already tonight hardly any condensation at all on the patio doors so I am pretty sure this has been the problem all along.
Obviously what I dont want to do is go to the trouble of putting down new flooring and putting the new washing machine in if its not all dried out properly ontop and underneath how long should I leave it to dry out?
Cheers
Lee
I have today discovered the washing machine has been leaking for an unknown amount of time at the back, it was tucked under the counter and due to the floor level tilting slightly back the water has been dripping out onto and then under the floorboards,
I have for some time suspected a leak somewhere as we have been getting bad condensation especially on the patio doors (next to the washing machine).
I pulled up the carpet under the patio doors a week ago (which itself was moldy under the underlay, this was under the patio doors and found the earth/rubble underneath damp, not soaking but damp.
I carried on pulling up the carpet and it got drier and up to the washing machine was bone dry which made me think it was damp or a dpc issue under the patio door.
As luck, if you call it, would have it today the washing machine failed to drain properly, has done this in the past and was the same thing small toddler sock in the filter. I had to pull the entire washing machine out to tilt at 45 degrees to pull out the filter without soaking the floor.
As I pulled it out noticed at the back damp carpet pulled this up really soaked floorboards and carpet ruined so cut it right back well before washing machine and binned, washing machine also being 10 years old is now in the garden.
I have had a fan heater on and off for a while today along with the patio doors open when it was not raining to get some fresh air in, which has dried the bare floorboards quite well and again cutback carpet and underlay to remove anything which had gone moldy or could go moldy.
My question after all that is what should I do about the crawl space underneath the floorboards as its a suspended floor and there is a gap between the floorboards and the earth of around 1/2 - 3/4 of a meter (not level at all.
There are airbricks all round and we renovated the place in 2011-2012 during that time I had the floorboards up in places for doing radiators wiring etc and didnt notice any damp but at same time checked the airbricks were not blocked.
Will this space dry out and given I dont know how long it has been leaking condensation only started when the weather turned cold, I am concerned given how long it may have been there might be a mold problem underneath. I cannot get the floorboards up where the washing machine was as the kitchen has been fitted around it including sink dishwasher etc so cannot pull it up to investigate any further but wondered if I am concerned about nothing.
Massive difference already tonight hardly any condensation at all on the patio doors so I am pretty sure this has been the problem all along.
Obviously what I dont want to do is go to the trouble of putting down new flooring and putting the new washing machine in if its not all dried out properly ontop and underneath how long should I leave it to dry out?
Cheers
Lee
