My water heater rusted through and flooded half my basement last Thursday

Came home from work around 6pm and heard water running. Found about an inch of water in the laundry room and it was spreading into the storage area. Hosed it up with a shop vac and called a plumber first thing Friday morning. They said the tank was 14 years old so it was just waiting to fail. Anyone else put off replacing their water heater way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade73816d ago

Omg same thing happened to me last year except mine went in the middle of the night. Woke up to a waterfall in the furnace room. 14 years is honestly a good run for those things, most only last 10-12. Pro tip though, if you got a shop vac and caught it quick, check your drywall baseboards for moisture damage within like 2 feet of the floor. I didn't and had to rip out a whole wall like 3 months later cause mold started growing behind the paint.

blair62616d ago

I read somewhere that water damage from these things can actually travel way farther than you'd think through capillary action in the drywall. A guy on a plumbing forum said he pulled baseboards three feet away and found the bottom inch of the drywall was completely saturated even though the floor looked bone dry. Might be worth sticking a moisture meter in a few spots just to be safe, mold is no joke.