What to Do When a Dishwasher, Washer, or Fridge Line Leaks
Appliance leaks get found late, because the water goes under the cabinet and behind the machine before it reaches the floor you walk on. Dishwasher and washing machine discharge is Category 2 water, so treat it as contaminated rather than clean. Close the supply first.
Do this now
Stop the cycle and close the supply valve behind or under the appliance. If it will not turn, close the main.
Unplug the appliance, or shut its breaker off if the cord is behind the machine and the floor is wet.
Pull the machine out, if you can do it without dragging it through standing water, and look at the wall and floor behind it.
Open the cabinets under and beside the appliance and take everything out.
Particleboard cabinet bottoms absorb water and swell from underneath. Whatever is stored in there is usually already wet, and the cabinet base is the last thing in the room to dry.
Photograph the appliance, the failed hose or fitting, and every wet surface before any cleanup starts.
Get water out of the toe kick and off the floor. Towels first, then a wet/dry vac on hard surfaces.
What makes it worse
These are the ones that turn a manageable loss into an expensive one, or cost people their claim.
Don't run the appliance again to see whether it does it twice.
It will, and the second run puts water into materials that were still dry. It also makes the loss look like a known problem you kept using rather than a sudden failure.
Don't treat dishwasher or washing machine water as clean.
Discharge water carries detergent, food waste, grease, and bacteria. That is Category 2, which means carpet pad and wet fibrous insulation come out instead of getting dried in place.
Don't throw the failed hose, valve, or supply line away.
The failed part is what shows the carrier this was sudden and accidental rather than a maintenance failure. Bag it, label it, and keep it until the claim closes.
Don't close the cabinet back up and dry only the open room.
There is almost no airflow under a cabinet base or in a toe kick. That water sits against the subfloor and the bottom plate and dries last, if it dries at all.
Don't assume it stayed on this floor.
A second-floor laundry drains through the floor cavity, runs along the joists, and shows up on the ceiling one room over. Check underneath before you decide the loss is small.
The clock
Category 2 water moves toward Category 3 as it sits. Time, temperature, and what it is soaking into all push it that direction. Mold begins colonizing wet organic material in roughly 24 to 48 hours. Cabinet bases and subfloor that could have been dried on day one are usually demolition by the end of the week.
Call us when
- Water got under cabinets, into the toe kick, or beneath hardwood, laminate, or LVP.
- The leak was behind the fridge or under the dishwasher and you do not know how long it ran.
- There is a stain on the ceiling below a second-floor laundry room.
- The floor cups, buckles, or feels soft anywhere near the appliance.
If it’s past what you can handle, call.
A person answers 24 hours a day. Even if it’s just a question.