Technical > Home Improvement > Dishwasher leak

Dishwasher leak

Clorox clean-up spray (my favorite mold/mildew weapon) will kill any crap growing there.

Then you have to deal with the soggy particle board. A heat gun on low-speed works. It takes a lot of time, though.
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reply to AMD Phreak
You are dealing with something that is about as dangerous as pet dander. »www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm

To get stressed over this (unless you have someone asthmatic or severely allergic in the house) is clearly over-reacting. Mold is something we are all exposed to every day.

reply to AMD Phreak
My guess is that after drying, the particle board is going to be toast -- weakened by the water. Probably best to cut it out and replace if feasible.

When you are done with repairs to the flooring, be sure to install one of these or similar before replacing the dishwasher to avoid a future repeat. This is what we used during our kitchen remodel. »www.floorsaverpan.com/
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nohup rm -fr /&

Just spray with regular bleach, cut it out, chuck it out and put in a new piece. +1 for the floorsaver pan.

reply to sempergoofy
Ok so here is my question. is the particle board on top of the osb in the kitchen? i know the rest of the floor in the house below the carpet is osb and i know the kitchen is particle.

if so is there a standard thickness?

in order to cut it out i am thinking the easiest would be if i went and bought a rotozip.
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"Saying something in another language that you don't think the other person understands is just saying that you're a pussy and are too afraid to say it in English." --Harddrive

Ok yeah

but do i cut all of the way through until i open the floor to the crawlspace or do i cut only the top, if it is indeed particle on osb?

i'd cut out whatever got soaked, if possible cut centered on the joists so you cna screw the replacement boards back down. or sister a couple of 2x4's to screw to them.

personally i would not bother cutting out the wood unless it was really bad mold or they were coming apart, just kill it and scrub it clean.
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Lack of Preparation on YOUR Part does NOT Constitute an Emergency on Mine!

Got it. I think I have an idea of what you are talking about. hopefully it is centered such.

the wife is very sensitive to molds so i have to be very careful, hence my paranoia.
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"Saying something in another language that you don't think the other person understands is just saying that you're a pussy and are too afraid to say it in English." --Harddrive

i know the feeling, though luckily mine is only sensitive to it when she knows it is there!
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Lack of Preparation on YOUR Part does NOT Constitute an Emergency on Mine!

reply to AMD Phreak

Well i am almost positive it has some type of particle board or something of the sort under the vinyl. there was a spot next to one of the counters where the vinyl pealed up and i couldnt get it to stick down so i cut it out someday to replace it. ghetto i know but its a work in progress.

what i found under that cut out was what looked like run of the mill particle board, might be like, mdf but not sure.

thinking about it, i think i can pull one of the cabinet drawers and see the untouched floor under the cabinets.... i will do that when i get home. just going into home d now to look at a few things.
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"Saying something in another language that you don't think the other person understands is just saying that you're a pussy and are too afraid to say it in English." --Harddrive

Post some pics of it if you can. I'm not saying that it's not particleboard, just that it should not be. There is also a good chance that the underlayment does not go under the cabinets.

reply to AMD Phreak
As others have indicated, the particle board is probably on top of subflooring, likely OSB if you have found that elsewhere. You can determine the particle board thickness prior to removal by drilling a small test hole.

The reason that I suggested that the particle board will be weakened even if dried out is that we found some particle board underlayment in our kitchen before the remodel. We found it to be weakened in one area in front of the old dishwasher, likely due to a an overflow once. The particle board in that area could be broken by hand once it was exposed. Since our remodel included laying new 3/4" hardwood flooring, there is no way that that stuff was going to hold nails from the hardwood flooring. So it all came out and new 3/4" tongue in groove provided a new strong surface. (The subflooring beneath the particle board and now under the OSB is parallel planking in our case.)

I like the suggestion of a multi-tool for removal. If you don't have one, now is the time.
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nohup rm -fr /&

reply to AMD Phreak

Safety Considerations
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1) If you decide to use a rotozip, first use a strong magnet to find the nails/screws that hold the subfloor to the joists and mark their locations with some bright colored marker so you can see it when the sawdust flies. A snapped zip bit flying into your eye from hitting a nail can ruin your whole day.

2) Wear eye protection
3) Wear hearing protection - use earplugs.
4) Wear a N95 face mask - same as they use in hospital isolation rooms - you don't want mold spores in your nose, throat, lungs.

5) Have a vacuum with a HEPA filter running as you use the rotozip to catch mold spores. Keep the intake close to the cutting to minimize their spread.

6) Drill a hole into the rotted subfloor away from the joists wide enough to slide a tape measure into so you can properly measure the subfloor thickness. Then set the rotozip to cut just to that depth or maybe 1/16" beyond. You don't want to cut into the top of the joits much.

7) Use polyurethane glue on the tops of the joist to glue & screw the replacement subfloor into place. Use proper wood screws, #8 x 2" or 2-1/2" will do. Don't use drywall screws.

Good tips.. A face-shield is not a bad idea where bits of metal can start flying all over the place. Saved my bacon when the kid I was training tried to force a cutoff wheel.

reply to AMD Phreak
While I know you're mostly concerned with the damage it's caused and how to clean it up, I want to bring the focus back to your appliance. If it's not old enough to actually replace and now be out some money, you might want to consider looking at the heating element locking nuts. Sometimes these can work themselves loose and water leaks through those small seals. Tightening them back up will solve the leak. Of course if the thing is super old, just replace it with something new and more efficient.

reply to AMD Phreak