Job completed for Laundry Wall Pipe Leak Carpet Removal and Drying

A Hopkins, SC homeowner called Kingsley water damage & Fire cleanup after a pipe leaked inside the wall behind the washer and dryer. The water spread out from the laundry area into the carpet of the connected living room, which was full of heavy furniture and stored boxes, and the homeowner needed the room dried out without losing track of their belongings.

The Kingsley crew, whose truck is shown parked outside the home in this photo, arrived the day after the leak was found. Moisture readings showed wet patches in the carpet almost everywhere in the room, with readings maxed out across about 40% of the carpet closest to the leak. The crew extracted water from the carpet and, because so much of it was saturated, removed all of the carpet and pad. Before the flooring came up, they moved a heavy bookshelf, a couch, two chairs, a hardwood office desk and several wood stands, carried boxes into the kitchen where the homeowner wanted them, and then moved the furniture again so the floor underneath could be cleaned properly.

At the laundry wall, an opening that was already behind the machines let the crew check the wall cavity directly. Meter readings showed only the bottom inch or two of the wall was wet, so the rest of the wall was left in place. The wet insulation in the wall with the leaking pipe was removed, and the crew confirmed it was batt insulation, not the blown-in type that can raise asbestos concerns. The exposed framing, the bottom plates and the floor were vacuumed and treated with antimicrobial.

On the first visit, one dehumidifier and five air movers went in to stabilize the room, and the drying setup was then built out to six air movers, a dehumidifier and an air scrubber. With the homeowner's permission, the dehumidifier hose was run into the washing machine drain so the water pulled out of the air drained away on its own. Homeowner takeaway: a leak inside a laundry wall can soak carpet pad well past the spot you can see, so have the whole room checked with a meter, not just the floor by the machines. If you have water damage in your Hopkins home, call Kingsley water damage & Fire cleanup at 803-219-8873. Our team is available 24/7 for emergency water damage service.