Minor flood from failed supply line - drying it all out question.

[LeeH]

A friend call me several days ago in a panic. The hot water supply line under her kitchen sink failed. She couldn't reach the valve, so I directed her to turn off the water to the entire house. We estimate that the water ran for approximately 8-10 minutes from first cutting loose to shut off.

The house is on a concrete slab with tile. By the time I got there (about 20 min) the floors were mostly dry. She said there was water in the kitchen and den area. There were signs water had run under the wall stud behind the sink as the slab was just a little moist outside. Also, water ran under the wall behind the kitchen cabinets and into the garage with a 2' by 1' pool.

I used my Shop Vac to remove the water in the garage. More appeared, but a much smaller amount. About the third of fourth time I vacuumed up the water we aimed a fan at the area and saw no more water appear, even after turning off the fans.

I pulled the dishwasher. There was a little water there, but not a huge amount. The edge of the cabinet next to the dishwasher had a slight amount of swelling along the bottom. Not visible, but it could be felt in an area of about 1" x 12".

By the time I fixed the plumbing, new supply lines and new angle stops, everything looked dry.

Here's my concern... She did not want me to remove the toe kicks on the cabinets. I'm worried about the moisture level under the sink base and the cabinets on both side of the range. I had her leave the cabinets open and there are three small fans blowing on the areas with question marks.

Did we do enough to prevent mold? She says everything is very dry now, but is three days enough to dry out the cavities under the cabinet boxes? She's a single divorced mom who obviously wants to hold on to as much of her money as possible and avoid a HO claim.

Thoughts? It's been super dry here in AZ this week.

[look 171]

She should be alright. Rent a fan from places like HD and dry everything out. Not a house fan. Run it over night and she should be fine. Li=ook likes you caught it in time as long as the water dries and the place doesn't stay damp or moist for days. Cabinets are more then likely particle board? Once they get wet, they swell up and that's the end for those.

[rwest]

Can you run a dehumidifier in there? That would show if there was water to pull out or not.

[drkshdw]

Take the toe kicks off the cabinets and get let them dry out. If water is on either end, it's in the middle too. If there was even a speck of mold or mildew already there, letting that sit to 'dry' for a few days on its own will only present a major mold and mildew problem later on. You need to get in there and dry it out properly. I mean, a week problem today or a months long problem later.

[SpyderMike]

For what it is worth, I had a major flood event last year. I called a remediation company whose main business was dealing with these events. This is what they used:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MFGKWNM/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3KK8HU2D2A1W9&colid=2MDK2R3KAABEG&psc=1

Pretty cheap and it took care of any mold within a few minutes. I am thinking of keeping a gallon handy.

[HardDrive]

Rent an industrial dehumidfier from Home Depot. It will be cheap. I did that after a crawl space flooded under our rental. Very effective. Probably take 2-3 days.

[Baz]

What no pics? Is she hawt?

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Rent an industrial dehumidfier from Home Depot. It will be cheap. I did that after a crawl space flooded under our rental. Very effective. Probably take 2-3 days.

Humidity levels here are 20% right now. Is a dehumidifier necessary? I told here to keep cabinets open, ceiling fans on, fans blowing on cabinets and patio door open.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Humidity levels here are 20% right now. Is a dehumidifier necessary? I told here to keep cabinets open, ceiling fans on, fans blowing on cabinets and patio door open.

People who have never lived in the desert don't realize how DRY it actually is.

Your ambient air is a dehumidifierr.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Humidity levels here are 20% right now. Is a dehumidifier necessary? I told here to keep cabinets open, ceiling fans on, fans blowing on cabinets and patio door open.

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Mold's enemy is dryness. With 20% humidity the place is going to dry out quick and even if some mold tries to grow in the interim it will die at such low humidity.
We had a mold problem in my basement and cured it completely with dehumidifiers. After a year of being bone dry no active mold could be detected.

[look 171]

How do you plan to remove the toe kick?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/XPOWER-700-CFM-Multi-Purpose-Blower-Fan-P-130A/206879797?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|google|D29B+Bath+Van ities&mid=s9JnGEXSz|dc_mtid_8903syd25186_pcrid_412933074 97_pkw__pmt__product_206879797_slid_&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzMDTBRDDARIsABX4AWy7G3twmLs8Au2atskD smSnw8krf48ZWX8oMaAA04JhvB4UY19bH7MaAsarEALw_wcB

Rent one of two of these thing and leave it on for a day or two. YOu will be fine. I worry more about those blown up cabinets

[DanielDudley]

As flood events go, that is minor. I think she dodged a bullet with your help.

[mepstein]

You are good. Especially with the low humidity level. I would keep a small fan on for a couple days just to make sure.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by look 171

How do you plan to remove the toe kick?

I told her that removing the toe kicks was the proper thing to do. She opted for leaving the cabinet doors open with fans blowing instead. I suggested a mold test in a couple of months just to be safe.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by look 171

How do you plan to remove the toe kick?

Around here toe kicks are held in place by clips that click into the cabinets adjustable feet. Try pulling it directly outwards. Maybe hook something under or over it and pull it directly outwards.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Around here toe kicks are held in place by clips that click into the cabinets adjustable feet. Try pulling it directly outwards. Maybe hook something under or over it and pull it directly outwards.

Ok, typical European cabinet with adj feet. maybe they are that way for Lee's friend but most store bought cabinets in the us aren't make like that. They are part of the cabinet

[look 171]

Originally Posted by LeeH

I told her that removing the toe kicks was the proper thing to do. She opted for leaving the cabinet doors open with fans blowing instead. I suggested a mold test in a couple of months just to be safe.

Safe thing to do

[LeeH]

Her toe kicks were nailed into place and appeared to be installed before the tile/grout. AND, there was quarter round trim. Wasn't going to be easy to pull or replace.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Her toe kicks were nailed into place and appeared to be installed before the tile/grout. AND, there was quarter round trim. Wasn't going to be easy to pull or replace.

Yep. Something will be destroyed during the removal process.