Hey everyone! I recently found out that my dishwasher was leaking water, probably for months, and it dripped onto my kitchen floorboards. I've cleaned the area and set up dehumidifiers to dry it out. I captured some footage showing a few white spots on the joists where the water pooled. Do they look like fungus to you? I'm worried if this indicates a serious problem. The house is an old Victorian, and I've just removed the lino and plywood covering the floorboards, which seemed to have hidden a lot of moisture. So far, the floorboards feel solid and not spongy after a day of drying. However, there's a gap behind the dishwasher with a big hole for the sink waste, and I'm anxious about how much water might have accumulated there over time. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
Honestly, the best approach is to clean the spots with bleach, dry everything out thoroughly, and poke around for rot using a sharp tool. If you find any rotted wood, you'll need to replace that flooring and any framing involved. It’s hard to gauge how bad it is from just photos, so some hands-on checking might be necessary.
To check if your wood has actually rotted, you can poke it with something sharp like a blade. If it’s firm, you’re probably in the clear. If it feels soft and easy to stab through, then you’ve got a problem. For any moldy areas, spray them with diluted bleach, let it sit for about 15 minutes, spray again, and then wipe it clean. Just a heads up, 'dry rot' is kind of a misnomer; only wet wood rots, so really it’s just 'wet rot' you're worried about.