# Refrigerator Leak, now a mess?



## BuckeyeScott (May 6, 2008)

The water line to our refrigerator was leaking at the connection to the refrigerator.  We're not sure for how long.  Maybe a couple of months.  A drop or two of water every minute I would guess.  The flooring in the kitchen is ceramic so that's OK.  Here's the issue...

The water worked its way along the grout to the wall between the kitchen and the foyer.  We noticed 2 stains in the drop ceiling in our finished basement.  The bottom of the subfloor was wet in spots.  So after turning off the water of course, I took out several tiles and dried the subfloor from the basement for about a week.  And we got the connection to the refrigerator fixed.  This all happened about 2-3 weeks ago.

At the time that we noticed the leak the molding in the foyer was pushed out slightly from the wall. This has since receded.  But now the biggie.  Our hardwood floor in the foyer has begun to buckle, only slightly, along the wall adjacent to the kitchen/refrigerator. A buckle of maybe 1/16 to an 1/8 of an inch at most.

So obviously some moisture got trapped.  Will this eventually dry?  Will the floor get worse?  Stay the same?  Get better?  Do we need to worry about mold?

We just spent big money finishing the basement last year and have ZERO money to spend now ripping up a hardwood floor.  I'm not kidding.  It's not like we don't want to spend the money, we don't have the money.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## glennjanie (May 6, 2008)

Welcome Buckeye Scott:
Your floor may get a little worse but it will dry out and lay back down eventually. You don't need to worry about the mold problem; its just a one time wetting and will dry out just fine.
Glenn


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## bigpecs300 (Aug 3, 2008)

BuckeyeScott said:


> The water line to our refrigerator was leaking at the connection to the refrigerator.  We're not sure for how long.  Maybe a couple of months.  A drop or two of water every minute I would guess.  The flooring in the kitchen is ceramic so that's OK.  Here's the issue...
> 
> The water worked its way along the grout to the wall between the kitchen and the foyer.  We noticed 2 stains in the drop ceiling in our finished basement.  The bottom of the subfloor was wet in spots.  So after turning off the water of course, I took out several tiles and dried the subfloor from the basement for about a week.  And we got the connection to the refrigerator fixed.  This all happened about 2-3 weeks ago.
> 
> ...



Ive got an almost similar issue, but mine is a dishwasher leak, and it casue some buckling in the hardwood floor of our living room adjacent to the kitchen... Im still waiting for a flooring guy to come and estimate damages...


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## Rosesarered (Aug 27, 2008)

You may want to use a dehumidifier in the area, to help get rid of some of the excess moisture in the air, which will help to dry out the wood.  You don't want to use it for too long though, as if you dry out the wood too much, it can start to contract and leave gaps.


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