Hot Water Leak Causes Damage in San Antonio Kitchen

9/7/2021 (Permalink)

We responded to an emergency water damage call in a San Antonio home. Summer had just begun, and mom along with her two children were enjoying the slower pace of life. The three had spent the morning in their pool and worked up quite the appetite. Mom decided to step inside to get food started for lunch while the kids stayed outside and dried off. Mom opened the backdoor and there in front of her was a flood in her kitchen and a hole in her ceiling. She shut off the water, called her children in to help, and then called us to mitigate the rest of the water damage. Shortly thereafter, she discovered her hot water heater was to blame for this disaster. The hot water heater, which was located in the attic above the kitchen, had sprung a leak. As more and more water was absorbed by the drywall, water began to pool and the kitchen ceiling started to bow. Eventually, the ceiling couldn’t hold the weight of the water any longer and the kitchen was flooded with water from above. Our technicians cleaned up the ceiling debris and extracted the standing water. They also cut and removed additional drywall that had been affected by water damage. It is important to get rid of drywall that has gotten wet as soon as possible because when it gets wet, it loses its structural integrity. In addition (and very importantly), removing water quickly will help minimize the potential for  mold growth. After several days of drying, the moisture levels met our dryness goals.  We were happy to say, "another home back to normal after experiencing a water damage emergency".