Because it's frequently the wettest room in the house, warning signs of a water leak in the bathroom often go unheeded. However, the damage that results is very real. An ongoing leak can seriously deteriorate walls and floor, requiring expensive removal and replacement of structural components. Continuous leaks are also a notorious source of the moisture needed to trigger toxic mold growth. Signs of a water leak in the bathroom may be subtle, but noticing them while they're still minor can prevent major water damage later.
- Recurrent mildew or mold. You may expect to see spotty mildew or mold growth inside the corners of a shower enclosure or some other bathing area routinely exposed to moisture and steam. However, if you're noticing mildew or mold outside the bathing zone on non-tiled walls or along the joint between baseboards and flooring, it could be a red flag to water seepage from a pipe inside a wall or beneath the floor.
- Peeling paint or wallpaper. A small chronic water leak inside a wall permeates wallboard and causes paint to blister and wallpaper to lose adhesive.
- Deteriorating walls. As gypsum wallboard becomes saturated from a supply line leak inside a wall void, it swells, bulges and eventually begins to crumble under the stress. When the wall is opened to locate and repair the leak, new wallboard must be installed.
- Stained ceiling downstairs. The classic giveaway of leakage in an upstairs bathroom. Leaking water eventually trickles down to saturate the ceiling of the room below, typically causing a yellow or brown stain. A gypsum ceiling that has absorbed enough water to display stains may need that portion of wallboard cut out and replaced after the leak is located and repaired.
- Spongy or deteriorating floor. A bathroom floor that is internally disintegrating due to water leakage and wood rot will begin to feel insubstantial beneath your feet, floor tiles may show gaps and the toilet may rock and feel insecure under weight.
If you're seeing signs of a water leak in the bathroom, talk to the professionals at Rytech, Inc. about water damage services.
