Water Damage from a Hot Water Heater Leak

One of the most disheartening feelings is finding out that you took on water in a finished part of your house.  About a month and half ago my lovely wife nudged me and woke me up at 1:20am…  “Sweetheart, the basement is flooded!!”  I said it can’t be. I was just down there not too long ago.  After I realized that this was not a dream, I proceeded to the basement. And Holy Moly Batman!  I was shocked!  The water was coming out of the bottom of my hot water heater and was going to the lowest level of the room which was carpeted.

I proceeded to restore the carpet.  This usually happens when you least expect it.  Please be diligent with checking out your hot water heater on a regular basis to make sure it’s not leaking from the bottom.  Also at this time of the year we run our Air Conditioners and they are designed to take moisture out of the air.  The moisture runs through a conduit and gets pumped out through a hose to ground level or some other type of drainage.  Pumps can malfunction and conduits can get clogged with debris, calcium, and other types of particulate soil.  Please keep a close eye on these as well.
I know how horrible this feeling is because I experienced it myself.  It is important that you take immediate action if your carpets get wet.  The carpets may dry out on their own, but the padding below will not, which in essence will cause mildew and bacteria growth. Ewww….stinky!