MR

Yes, I am crazy for having a house with a hardwood floor in the kitchen of all places! So the fridge has been leaking for I am not sure how long, maybe since yesterday or maybe just today. A small patch of the hardwood floor behind floor was soaked pretty and is warped. My biggest fear is mold. I wiped it up pretty good, but I know there is water underneath it. I can actually smell the mold if that makes any sense. Do I need to to have that part of the floor pulled up and replaced? I turned the ice make and water valve off.

I have home owners insurance. Is that worth checking into?

The fridge is probably 7 years old. Is it worth to have an appliance repair person take a look or just buy new/

I have been having some issues with bugs. Saw a few . My guess is because of the water leak. Will they go away?

I will say it now, I hate being a home owner.

scarygirl wrote:Yes, I am crazy for having a house with a hardwood floor in the kitchen of all places! So the fridge has been leaking for I am not sure how long, maybe since yesterday or maybe just today. A small patch of the hardwood floor behind floor was soaked pretty and is warped. My biggest fear is mold. I wiped it up pretty good, but I know there is water underneath it. I can actually smell the mold if that makes any sense. Do I need to to have that part of the floor pulled up and replaced? I turned the ice make and water valve off.

I have home owners insurance. Is that worth checking into?

The fridge is probably 7 years old. Is it worth to have an appliance repair person take a look or just buy new/

I have been having some issues with bugs. Saw a few . My guess is because of the water leak. Will they go away?

I will say it now, I hate being a home owner.

Lot's of variables.

If the floor isn't buckled too bad, it may return to the way it was, given a good drying out period. If it is buckled to the point that it won't, your homeowners may cover it, minus the deductible. Sometimes contractors, if the job is big enough, can absorb the deductible so that it doesn't cost you anything. I don't think this is one of those cases though. If it were me, and the floor needed to be repaired, I would have them remove the wood floor beneath the fridge and put tile there. Actually, I would do it myself, but I don't know if that's something you would want to try to tackle.

For the bugs, put the cats in another room and apply bug spray. Use a bug spray that is safe for pets once it is dry.

As for the fridge, it could just be a leaking water line, or it could be a leaking water valve. Either are easy and fairly inexpensive to fix. If the ice maker has gone bad, then that's not as cheap. Just leave the water off and turn off the ice maker. My fridge has an on off switch on the ice maker, but most of them have a skinny metal bar that determines the level of ice in the tray. That bar can be lifted up into a locked position, preventing the ice maker from continuing to try to run.

My icemaker leaked before...Check your water filter behind your fridge too. Hopefully thats all it is...

Call your insurance company. This is a legitimate claim if there is damage. Whilst they may not cover the refer, damage to the floor should be covered.

If you can smell the mold you need to get that fixed, could cause you all kinds of issues medically.

yulog wrote:If you can smell the mold you need to get that fixed, could cause you all kinds of issues medically.

Your avatar has done that already, fucker!

No Surprize wrote:

yulog wrote:If you can smell the mold you need to get that fixed, could cause you all kinds of issues medically.

Your avatar has done that already, fucker!

steveo777 wrote:Call your insurance company. This is a legitimate claim if there is damage. Whilst they may not cover the refer, damage to the floor should be covered.

Called my insurance company this morning. My deductible is 1,000 dollars. They didn't suggest my making a claim. They said if I ever switched companies there is a good chance that my application would be denied. Over one small claim. You gotta love insurance..

scarygirl wrote:

steveo777 wrote:Call your insurance company. This is a legitimate claim if there is damage. Whilst they may not cover the refer, damage to the floor should be covered.

Called my insurance company this morning. My deductible is 1,000 dollars. They didn't suggest my making a claim. They said if I ever switched companies there is a good chance that my application would be denied. Over one small claim. You gotta love insurance..

I had this happen a couple years ago...I had someone cut out the wood and replace it with tile to make a "landing pad" for the fridge...and if it leaks, less chance of damaging the floor. I did not want to replace the entire kitchen with tile...the mahogany looks too nice for that, and it's not that old.

And, personally, I would just replace the fridge rather then repairing it....unless I knew I could do it myself. Keep the water shut off until you can afford a new one.

Monker wrote:

scarygirl wrote:

steveo777 wrote:Call your insurance company. This is a legitimate claim if there is damage. Whilst they may not cover the refer, damage to the floor should be covered.

Called my insurance company this morning. My deductible is 1,000 dollars. They didn't suggest my making a claim. They said if I ever switched companies there is a good chance that my application would be denied. Over one small claim. You gotta love insurance..

I had this happen a couple years ago...I had someone cut out the wood and replace it with tile to make a "landing pad" for the fridge...and if it leaks, less chance of damaging the floor. I did not want to replace the entire kitchen with tile...the mahogany looks too nice for that, and it's not that old.

And, personally, I would just replace the fridge rather then repairing it....unless I knew I could do it myself. Keep the water shut off until you can afford a new one.

I have a tile floor in my house that looks exactly like a wood floor. We did this because we like the looks of a wood floor but the dogs would end up scratching it up over time.

Monker wrote:

scarygirl wrote:

steveo777 wrote:Call your insurance company. This is a legitimate claim if there is damage. Whilst they may not cover the refer, damage to the floor should be covered.

Called my insurance company this morning. My deductible is 1,000 dollars. They didn't suggest my making a claim. They said if I ever switched companies there is a good chance that my application would be denied. Over one small claim. You gotta love insurance..

I had this happen a couple years ago...I had someone cut out the wood and replace it with tile to make a "landing pad" for the fridge...and if it leaks, less chance of damaging the floor. I did not want to replace the entire kitchen with tile...the mahogany looks too nice for that, and it's not that old.

And, personally, I would just replace the fridge rather then repairing it....unless I knew I could do it myself. Keep the water shut off until you can afford a new one.

Nice!!!

Monker wrote:

scarygirl wrote:

steveo777 wrote:Call your insurance company. This is a legitimate claim if there is damage. Whilst they may not cover the refer, damage to the floor should be covered.

Called my insurance company this morning. My deductible is 1,000 dollars. They didn't suggest my making a claim. They said if I ever switched companies there is a good chance that my application would be denied. Over one small claim. You gotta love insurance..

I had this happen a couple years ago...I had someone cut out the wood and replace it with tile to make a "landing pad" for the fridge...and if it leaks, less chance of damaging the floor. I did not want to replace the entire kitchen with tile...the mahogany looks too nice for that, and it's not that old.

And, personally, I would just replace the fridge rather then repairing it....unless I knew I could do it myself. Keep the water shut off until you can afford a new one.

That is what I am going to ultimately do. Just replace the wood beneath the fridge area with tile. The only reason I thought about replacing the whole area with tile is my laundry closet and water heater is in the same area. Of course, that all sits on linoleum so maybe it will be okay.

Before you condemn the fridge, inspect the condenser. A refrigerator is similar to a car's air conditioning system. I am sure everyone has seen the byproduct of the removal of heat. You will observe water exiting under the car (normal). On hot and humid days, there will be a significant amount of water condensation. In climates when the AC is not utilized on a daily basis, at first use (AC), an odor of mold is emitted from the ducts. This is attributed to the accumulation of dust, dander, pollen & moisture.

You will need the owner’s manual for the fridge (online):

Back to your particular problem, most (conventional) refrigerators have a removal grill at the bottom (front). Remove the grill and you will see something that (vaguely) resembles a car’s radiator. It is probably engulfed with dust. The efficiency (heat removal) is dramatically reduced. You may have adjusted the internal thermostat to maintain the ideal temperature. There should be a removable pan that collects a minimal amount of moisture (condensation). Try purchasing a brush (looks like an over engineered pipe cleaner) to clean it and vacuum the condenser. Have the unit unplugged and be gentle with the brush. Freon (gas/liquid) re circulates through the system. Most can perform this maintenance chore. Who knows, you may find loose change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ7ykYOHmME

At the 3:30 mark, you can see the drip pan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7P4bR0WPR4