Are you kidding me? How can one little appliance cause so much havoc in my home? It started like this… walk with me now. Stumble down those stairs. (I am NOT a morning girl all bright-eyed and bushy tailed). I have one focus: Get to the Mr. Coffee machine each morning like a worm escaping a hot southern sidewalk… fast.
Hubs and I are actually coming down the steps together this morning. This is a rare moment because he leaves early and I try to stay in bed for as long as possible until the “you’d better wake up before those teenagers do” thoughts come flooding into my subconscious.
On automatic pilot, we both head directly to the coffee machine and then I see it…
a watery big pond.
Ahh, ponds are pretty. Except this one is in my FREAKIN’ KITCHEN!
I gasped. Ok, I kinda screamed. I was like,”Ahhhg!”
Hubs was like, “What the %$ll ?” (Remember we both have not had our coffee yet.)
The water was pooling in front of our dishwasher, the sink, the stove…
around the island and around the bar, and then some…(we’ll get to that in a second.)
We dash upstairs to grab every beach towel we can find (10 towels total I think… I lost track) and spread them, sop them, wring them out and drag them across the kitchen solid oak hardwood floors. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING is what was running though my caffine deprieved brain. HOW did this happen? We rip open the cupboard under the sink to check for a leak. The dishwasher maybe?
Exhale. After a bit the kitchen is sopped up. Time to look around. What are those wet spots across the room? Wetness was showing up on the kitchen dining area rug. I pulled back the rug to find water seeping upward through the hard wood joints. This meant that the water was running between the wood and the subfloor and traveling across the kitchen. (Sigh). By this point I’ve got to sit down and rest a second.
I step into the adjoining familyroom.
SQUISH, SPLASH, Noooooooooo!
About a third of our large family room was drenched. I wanted to cry. Someone give me a cup of coffee now because I can’t deal with this.
The next 12 hours were spent using my Bissel steam cleaner to suck up gallons upon gallons of water out of the carpet. By 10pm you would have thought that I had made some headway, but no. The carpet still felt like we were walking on a soaking wet sponge. It was time to pull the carpet back and remove the sopping wet padding.
You do not want to know what exists under that padding. Trust me. It’s disgusting. It makes me want to remove all carpet entirely from our home.
The next day we called our home insurance and they sent out a water restoration company to help. Why I didn’t call them on day one is beyond me. I’ll be honest, it didn’t even cross my mind. In 20 years of home ownership we’ve never had to use the insurance before.
The restoration guys came out with their moisture meters and started removing all the shoe molding, cabinet kick plates, and baseboards to the check for water under the kitchen cabinets. Yep, more water. By this point the wood boards are starting to cup. The guy mentions that he thinks the kitchen floors need to be pulled up. The hardwood runs under all the kitchen cabinets, which possibly means removing the cabinets.
Oh good Lord please no.
They head into the crawl space under the house (we don’t have basements in our area). All the insulation under the effected area is soaking wet and has to be immediately removed before mold starts. Mold is a huge concern.
Large industrial fans and dehumidifier have been running non stop and we wait and watch the floors to see if they start to buckle more. All this from a stupid dishwasher. We still have no clue as to what happened with the dishwasher. No one even remembers it being turned on. I have my theory as to what might have happened but we are still unsure. Regardless, that dishwasher is outta’ here!
The adjuster will come in a day or two to survey the damage. I guess they prefer things to dry a bit before assessing everything. Our deductable is enormous too. So this is going to cost us a pretty penny out of pocket, no way around that. I know that this is a minor flood and others have experieced so much worse. It’s still stressful though and we are exhausted.
If you’ve all been through a minor flood in your home please feel free to share with me your experience and advice, especially if you have hardwood floors. I’m praying that we can salvage our hardwood floors. I feel like a fish out of water right now.
KIM
We had a similar situation about 10 years ago. I was out of town and had called home to check in. That’s when Hubs told me we had My St Helen’s in our kitchen. I immediately went home and called my insurance agent. Service Master arrived and began the drying process. Our leak came from the water line to the fridge. We had to move to a hotel for 3 weeks (dog and cat in tow) while the fans and dehumidifiers ran in the crawl space (entrance in the master). We ended up with all new flooring (tile and carpet). We were lucky as those were on the to do list.
Advice? Get more than one quote for replacement and if you have to move out at all insist on something with a small suite and kitchen.
Good luck.
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I gasped in horror with each passing pic.
Our dishwasher backed up when we had a blackout and we discovered there was sediment build up in the holes in the arms too from our dish washing liquid. The filter needs changed or cleaned once a year and a needle can unplug the holes. I’m not saying that’s what happened here but it’s something we never thought of so it might be good to keep in mind with the new dishwasher. We also switched to Seventh Generation powder and have had far less build up in the dishwasher ever since.
how DO I clean the filter? I assume it’s that round plastic piece that kind of bounces up and down when I touch it? near the front. I’ve never know what that was for in any dishwasher in my life, much less that I’m supposed to do something with it 🙂
THANKS FOR ANY INFO
Kate
40 years of having a dishwasher and I NEVER have heard of a filter that needs to be cleaned out. I’ll start looking for it and thank you. So very sorry for your disaster. My biggest fear is “water where it’s NOT supposed to be.” Wishing you “back to normal” soon.
Same thing happened to us. We came home from being out of town for Thanksgiving to…flood. The only piece of advice is use an insurance approved contractor and make sure EVERY BIT OF MOISTURE is gone before replacing the floors. Our floors had to be done twice – months apart – because the were installed before they should have been. Fortunately we used the approved guy so it eliminated any issues with that. I know it sounds impossible (trust me, many tears were shed!) but embrace the opportunity to make any changes you might want. Good luck and I’m saying prayers for sanity!
Kim, I am so sorry! I remember this feeling well. You may lose your kitchen, but you may be lucky and the restoration team can stop the mold from growing. Not sure you want to read too much into our story (as it was a series of unfortunate factors ;-(.) But, here you go: http://www.prettyhandygirl.com/kitchen-renovation-recap-2013/
Our dishwasher did the same thing a few years ago. Turns out the water connection spring a slow leak and we didn’t even know it until the floors started cupping. Miserable!
I hope they get it all fixed soon for you!
Our family room flooded from the bathroom tub directly above the room having pipe break..what a nightmare. I walked into the room and my light fixture had waster pouring! By then the wood floors were already covered in water.. I stepped back and the ceiling fell!
Our insurance was great though…they sent out a cleaning crew that day and the adjuster also came the next morning. Those industrial fans are horribly noisy, aren’t they? It was heartbreaking seeing our floors being pulled up but was reassured they would be replaced by the same or better…I choose better. It was a long process, the water even dripped down through the registers to our finished basement, but we got through it. The professional paint job in that room looks better than any in our home than we did ourselves!
Try to look on the bright side…this will definitely be a pain, but you will have all new ‘stuff’ by the end..good luck and have patience, you’re in my prayers!
Oh my sweet Mama! I know exactly what you are going through. We had “ice damming” on our roof this winter which caused a leak through our skylight and all over the kitchen floor (which is hardwood and runs throughout the entire first floor).
We had to move out for 5 weeks, live in a tiny cottage and get floors replaced in dining/living/kitchen.
It’s frustrating but I tried to see the silver lining the entire time. I kept thinking about our nice new floors and freshly painted walls that would be waiting when we moved back in.
It was covered by insurance…but as luck would have it, they raised our premiums by $800/year!
I hope it all works out for you…good luck and I’ll be checking to see how it all goes for you. Keeping my fingers crossed for a quick repair job!
Colette
We have a dishwasher that had a bad control panel and it would kick on by itself. Figured it our after a couple of days so no water. New control panel and ally well. Understand your frustration.
Kim, What a mess! We built a home and had been in it for three days when the line to the icemaker popped out. Luckily I was home but it still did lots of damage before I could figure out how to turn off the water. The next week the air conditioning company came to move the thermostat and drilled through a water pipe in the wall. Luckily they paid for the damage. Our biggest flood was with Hurricane Ivan and a 22 foot surge that hit our house. Dealing with the flood and wind insurance companies was a nightmare and it cost us over $60,000 above what insurance paid.
I hope everything works out for you.
Hugs,
Sherry
Oh I am so sorry! We went through this in 2009. I had a brand new kitchen with newly refinished hardwood floors, custom cabinets and new appliances. The dishwasher was installed improperly and pumped water all over the floor, just as you described. We have an open floor plan and the water seeped under all the wood. I hate to tell you, but not only did the hardwood floors have to go, so did the subflooring. The water restoration company had fans going under the house (the water seeped through everything and had made a puddle under the crawspace). The water was also seeping into the wood of the new custom base cabinets so they had to be taken off the floor along with the island. To make a terribly long story a little shorter, everything was dried out, sprayed with a mold repellant, subflooring replaced, hardwood flooring replaced and cabinets/island reinstalled. Then, in order for the stain on all the old flooring throughout to match the new floors, everything without carpeting had to be refinished. It was a very expensive disaster. However, after the deductible ($1,000) our insurance did pay the costs. Sadly, a legal battle ensued between my insurance company and the plumber about the dishwasher and who was at fault. It was a mess and we had to stay nearly a week in a motel while the floors were refinished (they led into bedrooms and bathrooms and the smell was awful). There is not much you can do to fix a problem like this yourself. It takes big, professional equipment and definitely affects more than just one room. If I can help you with any other information, just email me. I sure hope your home is fixed up quickly!
Thank you for sharing Linda – so the removal and re-installation of the cabinets and countertop in order to replace the hardwood floors worked out fine?
Oh, Kim, so sorry to see what a mess the water damage has done to your lovely home. I understand completely as I live in N.O. and have recovered from many hurricanes and the devastating damage water does to our homes. My advice to you, and I’m sure you have already done this, is to take a deep breath and tell yourself that it won’t be easy, but it is a fixable problem. You are ok, your family is ok, and “things” can be replaced. Please get a few quotes. Shed some tears if you need to relieve the stress, and know that this will take time to get it all back to the way you want it. Keep us posted, and we are sending good thoughts & support your way.
You poor thing! I can only imagine and I feel sick in my stomach just reading your post! Praying for you!! And, crossing my fingers that the floor can be saved!
Ahh! Kim, I’m so sorry to hear about your flood! We had friends file claims due to toilets flooding their homes within just a couple months of each other. They both had laminate floors, which were of course, beyond hope. I have a feeling you will be replacing your floors as well. On the upside, insurance was our LIFESAVER when we had a fire last year. In times like this, you are thankful for it!!
Oh yes, we had a very similar experience last winter at our house in Hampton. We had 4 inches of standing water in the kitchen for 13 days while our tenant was on TDY. The water was cascading into the crawlspace and running through the ductwork. In the end all the wood flooring in the kitchen, pantry, adjoining bathroom and part of the family room were destroyed. The kitchen cabinets (top and bottom), countertops, bathroom cabinet, floor joists, subfloors, ductwork, floorboards, wall paint, and I don’t remember what all else had to be replaced. Our biggest challenge was the winter weather in Hampton Roads and the holidays. The repair company’s insurance took care of everything except our deductible (the dishwasher repairman didn’t close off the valve completely when he removed the dishwasher). The house was considered ‘unliveable’ by their insurance company, so we lost rent for 3 months during the repair time. Thankfully our insurance company reimbursed us for lost rent. It is a total pain in the ***** but you caught it early, hopefully avoiding more damage. One piece of advice I can give is to check to see how much the insurance company covers, as in the percentage of the replacement value (they often don’t cover for full replacement value due to the age of the item, such as cabinets in our case). Which unfortunately didn’t give us much choice as to which cabinets fell within the amount allowed. We live on the west coast so it was incredibly stressful to have to deal with problems that arose during the process. But we got through it and so will you! My lesson learned was to practice more patience, in the end everything was taken care of, but most of it was out of my control.
kim this just sucks so sorry hun xx
While we haven’t had anything quite as bad, we had a leaky in the water line to our refrigerator in our first house that ruined our floors (laminate at the time). I’m amazed at how easily and quickly water can wreak havoc and cause so much damage! In our last house, we had a leak from an outdoor faucet that had frozen, which made a mess in our basement. Thankfully, that was resolved with high powered fans, drying everything out. Did I mention we were getting ready to sell our house when that happened? Yes, stressful.
I hope this all gets resolved quickly and doesn’t cost a mint. Did you need special flood insurance for this, or was it covered under your normal homeowner’s policy? I’m assuming this doesn’t qualify as your typical “flood”, but who knows?
Ohh Noo! My bestie had this problem a year ago. While she was away camping. And it was the hot water from the dishwasher. So it steamed and cooked for 2 days. Now she has an older home with original oak hardwood floors. Through out the whole house. She had them all refinished when she moved in a few years ago. She takes great pride in her house she did all by herself. The hot water seeped up 18″ up the walls. Everything in the house was soaked. TV’s, computers sitting on the floor, kitchen cabinets EVERYTHING. Even the tile in the bathroom floors were coming up!! 2 weeks of fans from the crawl space under the house which was muddy and wet too. The restoration company came out and packed the Whole House!. Food to towels. She was out for a year. Since the house had to be inspected for mold and a lot of additional damage was done when cabinets and granite and appliances were removed. The insurance adjuster was a young person with no compassion and just a paper pusher. A contractor suggested she get a advocate. The insurance company wanted their contractor to do everything. His prices were $15K higher which would eat into her funds. Please be careful. This is a big deal. And you need to get everything right. Good Luck!! Its been a year and still no kitchen faucet or refrig…
You poor thing! What a mess for you to have to deal with. I hope that the repairs can be made quickly. My aunt lives in your area and has had similar damage but it has all been hurricane related. It really stinks to have damage this bad all caused by one dishwasher. Good luck!
So sorry this happened to you! It’s amazing how things can just go at any time in a house! I hope you get dried out soon. Hang in there!
Shelley
Oh Kim that’s terrible! I was just at my neighbor’s house yesterday who had a similar experience from a leaking refrigerator. She was sharing her new kitchen (which was in need of an update anyway) where she also ended up installing tile and replaced just a few hardwood boards from the adjoining room. It really is out of your control my friend. Hopefully most of it can be salvaged!
I’m so sorry to read about your flood. The whole downstairs of my Cottage was flooded two years ago or so. I was lucky that I have tiles downstairs, regardless, it did damage the grout on some places. My first advice is to let things dry thoroughly. It’s amazing how much water wood can take in and then it doesn’t look that bad once dried. Mold doesn’t appear right away and if things are allowed to dry, most of the time, it just doesn’t appear. I only had one spot of mold in one of my kitchen walls that appeared after a few weeks… I guess that part of the wall wasn’t dry enough when I put furniture back on it. I removed the mold with a mixture of very, very hot water, vinegar and cinammom essential oil. The mold never reappeared. My best advice would be to be patient and have faith in the drying process…
Wow. Oh my goodness, I hope it all comes out as minor damage as possible. I have a friend who lives in Hampton, and a storm a few years back flooded her whole bottom floor. It had to be completely remodeled and new furniture! BTW I’m in Williamsburg, love your stuff, and I really hope everything pans out.
I just found this post on Pinterest. I am sorry for your troubles. My husband and I had a similar experience 5 years ago. We came home after 3 days away to a house full of water from a ruptured washing machine hose. Long story short, and 3 months later we had new flooring in the entire main level (about 2000 sq.ft.), new cabinets, counters, paint, and had to replace 2′ of sheet rock in much of the area. What a pain! I imagine you’re put back together by now. Enjoy the ‘new ‘ space.
Hi Heidi!
Thanks for the encouraging words! Your ordeal sounds so much worse than what we are dealing with. I can’t even imagine. Our floors were just finished on Monday and we will hopefully be able to move furniture back in this weekend. The next phase is getting kitchen cabinets, counters, sink and appliances reinstalled. It’s going slower than expected but we’re taking one day at a time and looking forward to the end results. 😉
Have a great week!
KIM
Did the insurance company pay for total replacement of cabinets and counter tops?
Hi Pam! No, it didn’t pay for the replacement of the cabinets but it did cover the countertops because they broke when the water restoration company removed the cabinets. The previous cabinets were not made well at all so we paid to get new, high quality cabinets instead.
Hi, how did this turn out for you? Particularly the ripping out and re-installation of the cabinets (to replace the hardwood)? We are going thru the same thing now and that is the part I am most concerned about. Would love your insights!