Help with mold and mystery leak

"Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris) 11/12/2019 at 13:08 • Filed to: Ask Oppo, home repairs, Plumbing, Mold, Leaks

0

28

The disposal stopped working last week. After being out of town over the weekend, I was finally able to look at it today, and discovered this situation.

Well fuck. That’s a lot of mold...

This is the outlet the disposal was plugged in to. Turns out its dead now. I checked the breaker to make sure it hadn’t tripped anything and all was good there. I ran an extension cord from another outlet and plugged the disposal into that and it ran just fine.

Oh, and the base shelf of the cabinet is starting to bow a little.

After running everything, I’m not seeing any visible leaks or drips. Everything is dry to the touch. So I’m at a loss here. Is it something in the walls? Am I gonna need to start ripping it alm out to get to the water lines? What say you home repair gurus of Oppo?

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:14

0

Could it be a humidity issue?  Under the sink, water pipes, hot water.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:18

4

i’d start with bleaching the shit outta everything then cutting out the contaminated sheetrock.  wet it down to reduce dust.  

facw > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:18

0

Definitely looks like it was wet at some point. I’d want to open things up rather than just hitting it with anti-fungal paint on the outside. Seems likely you’ll have mold on the inside too.

And then of course there’s the hopefully separate question of that happened to th e outlet, which may also require getting into the fall. Though, you checked the breaker, but is it on a GFCI circuit that might have tripped at an outlet?

Future next gen S2000 owner > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:20

5

Aremmes > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:21

2

That looks well and truly buggered.

My guess is that the cold water line is lwaking inside the wall. Can you check below the floor where rhe line enters the wall to see if it's dripping there?

Tekamul > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:23

2

One of those drain joints is leaking. It may take emptying both sinks at once, or running the disposal with stuff in it, but something is leaking.

Drai n pipes are pretty cheap, but if you just want it to stop without being able to diagnose it, use some ‘wrap fix’around the joints. It’s not a root cause fix, but it works.

After that, spray the mold with a bleach mix, leave the doors open for a few days, and see if it dries out. Nothing to do about the base board but cut it out or cover it up.

TorqueToYield > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:26

2

mold means wet. fix the wet and you’ll fix the mold. something somewhere is leaking. C ould it be the top edge where the sink meets the counter? That was leaking on my sink and a surprising amount of water would get through.

if you just want to kill the active mold for now I like Concrobium https://www.homedepot.com/p/Concrobium-32-oz-Mold-Control-025326/100654126 it’s not a root cause fix, more of a fuck it I can’t do anything else about it right now fix.

Also that electric looks a bit janky to me, admittedly not an electrician. Hopefully it’s branched from a GFCI box.

Urambo Tauro > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:30

2

Cabinets don’t get much ventilation. Wherever the moisture came from (leaking window above sink?), it’s too much to dry itself  out. Removing the drywall might reveal the true source. The mold growth is too advanced to save the drywall, so don’t even bother trying to encapsulate it. It’ll have to come out!

The cabinet might be savable, but you have to get it away from the wall first to check the backside. At any rate, don’t go disturbing any of it without PPE.

ttyymmnn > TorqueToYield 11/12/2019 at 13:45

0

Hopefully it’s branched from a GFCI box.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:48

2

I’d shu t off the breaker until you trace that wire which feeds the outlet, that seems to be sharing a hole for the dishwasher drain. Taking a wild guess here, but since the dishwasher doesn’t seem to be plugged into that outlet under the sink I’m betting there is either an outlet or junction box behind the dishwasher. If the dishwasher still works then it’s probably a hokey connection right in that vicinity. If the disposal was DIY’d god only knows what you’ll find when the dishwasher is pulled forward.

As for the mold, it may be as simple as whomever installed the sink or faucet failing to lay a bead of silicone down first. I’d bleach the hell out of it then try to dry it out, and ensure everything up top is well sealed. Assuming it stays dry, layer it with Kilz and keep an eye on it.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 13:58

2

You also need to add a ‘high loop’ for your dishwasher drain.  The hose needs to have a loop above where it enters into the food waste disposal.

XJDano > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 14:14

2

How much do you want to spend?

Some kind of moisture is under there. Fix that.

First I’d get whatever the hardware store sells for mold. Or you can look into getting what we use: Fibelock shockwave. It used to be IAQ2500 I think.

Get a pump (Hudson) sprayer, fill to directions on chemical, correct ratio for water. Spray area, wipe with clean cloths, respray, rewipe. Spray again. Let that sit.

Anything that is water damaged should be cut out. So probably new cabinets. Or if you can get by, just cut out the drywall behind your access panel.

Mold is tricky. If there is water and organic material there will be mold. Fix the water problem and it won’t come back.

It’s easy for me to say, gut your kitchen, but it sucks. If it is actually really bad you may look into your insurance. Some cover it some don’t.

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > XJDano 11/12/2019 at 15:05

0

Ideally, I’d like to spend $0, lol. Thanks for all the info though. Where would I find that sprayer you mentioned? Is that something they’d have at Lowe’s?

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: 11/12/2019 at 15:10

0

Funny you should mentioned the person who installed the sink... We had to gut the shower room when we first moved in because the previous owner decided to seal the tub/shower with, get this, SUPER GLUE. I didn’t even think about the possibility of them being the ones to install the sink too. I looked around it and it does seem pretty poorly sealed. I guess it’s time to pull it up and re-do it. A good bit of water does spray behind the sink when we do dishes due to how shallow the sink is. 

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > Tekamul 11/12/2019 at 15:11

0

I’ve sprayed the mold with some bleach already and am letting that sit right now. I haven’t tried draining both basins at the same time though. I’ll give that a shot later and see what happens. 

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > TorqueToYield 11/12/2019 at 15:13

0

The electrical is definitely janky. I have no idea if it’s branched from a GFCI box or not. I’d have to pull the dishwasher out to trace the wire, and I haven’t had the time to do that yet. 

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > Urambo Tauro 11/12/2019 at 15:15

0

Damnit. I was afraid of this answer. Guess it’s time to break out the saw...

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > facw 11/12/2019 at 15:19

0

Yeah. I’m just confused as to how the water go up so high. It seems like it stops right at the line for the cabinet access. I’m wondering more and more now about the possibility of the sink not being sealed to the counter and water leaking that way.

And I have no idea about the outlet. The wire runs back behind the dishwasher. So I have to pull that out before I can figure anything else out electrical-wise. 

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > OPPOsaurus WRX 11/12/2019 at 15:20

0

Bleach has already been sprayed. Did that as soon as I saw it. And damnit. I was hoping to avoid cutting it all out. But I guess that’s the only way to really get to anything and really get rid of the mold. 

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > ClassicDatsunDebate 11/12/2019 at 15:22

0

I was not aware of this. I found a broken bracket in the cabinet, so I’m wonder in g if that’s what it was and it just broke. Thanks for pointing that out!

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > Aremmes 11/12/2019 at 15:22

0

Do you mean like check under the house?

Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/12/2019 at 15:23

0

With how old this house is, and the mold not being there when we moved in in May, the ventilation shouldn’t be an issue. I would think we would’ve seen that problem before buying since the house was a foreclosure. 

shop-teacher > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 15:35

0

You definitely need to cut that drywall out.  A lot of other good comments about where the source came from, so I won’t add to that, but you’ll need to figure it out.

XJDano > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 15:40

0

Yes in the garden section. Basically for spraying weeds with concentrate.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Chapin-1-Gallon-Plastic-Tank-Sprayer/3646822

Urambo Tauro > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 15:42

0

I probably don’t have to tell you to plan on removing more than just the undersink cabinet. In my experience, the true scope of work often ends up exceeding the visible mold on the face of the wall by 200-300%. You may end up having to replace close to 8 linear feet of drywall here, 3 feet or so up from the floor. Just gotta start tearing it out and stop when you reach clean board.

If tackling the project yourself, BE SAFE. Disturbing the mold is going to send spores flying into the air like crazy. Wear a real respirator, not just a paper mask. Hang some temporary plastic curtains to seal off the work area from the rest of the house, and if you can’t run a HEPA filtration unit inside your work area, at the very least have a fan pushing contaminated air out a nearby window (depending on the climate where you live, this is not a fun time of year to have windows open).

EDIT: Just saw XJDano’s pics. That’s exactly what I’m talking about.

Aremmes > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 15:51

0

Yes, with the implicit assumption that your house has a basement or crawl space from where you can examine the plumbing. If your house doesn't have either, then it's a moo point.

Tekamul > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 16:06

0

Oh, and clean the trap. When I moved into my house, I found not 1, but 2 butter knifes(no t normal ones, but like the fancy angled ones) in the trap. It's crazy what can be in there slowing things down. 

66P1800inpieces > Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy 11/12/2019 at 18:40

0

As mentioned in another response it could be coming from water dripping down the counter back splash.  To check the drains fill both sides with water and add some food coloring and see if you see any dyed water below.  You may also need to watch the dishwasher empty as the drains on disposers can crack.  One last possibility is that it is higher up in the wall and leaking down. I heard one case where the homeowner had some sheetrock in her kitchen fall down and it was caused by the original builder hitting a drain pipe with a nail and it leaked for years without her knowing it once the nail rusted enough to cause a leak.