...to ask for your help with a household emergency

[Winchestermom35]

we bought our first house last year & are slowly getting to grips with home ownership.

We are rubbish at even basic diy so learning as we go.

We put a load of washing on & set the dishwasher going before heading on a 3 hour walk with friends this afternoon. Came back to a huge pool of water in our kitchen. This has seeped through to the living room carpet in the next room which is still wet now 😣

Turns out the waste pipe was loose & the connection broke so the washing machine & dishwasher basically emptied onto the kitchen floor.

We’ve mopped the water up but half the living room carpet is still sopping wet & we think there’s water sitting on the concrete under the Lino.

Can anyone tell us what to do? We’re insured for accidental damage at least but still clueless. I feel like I need an adultier adult 😂

Do you have or know anyone who has a carpet cleaner to suck the excess water up?

Call your insurance company, they will send someone who will decide what needs to be done and then either you use their people to do it or they give you a pay out and you arrange for it to be done yourself.

Ring insurance ASAP

I’d eat lots of towels to soak up as much as you can, and as pp suggests, a carpet cleaner to suck up what you can.

Eat?! That’s meant to say get my stupid phone

Please don’t eat the towels

I tend to go with the adultier adult option & ring my dad! Is that an option for you? Ringing your dad, not mine, that is. Although mine would probably help you if you want his number? He's a good chap 😂

Yes contact insurer ASAP but I would suggest the first thing you need is to get that water up so hire a dehumidifier. A quick google search should give you some local suppliers.

Check to see if you have emergency cover on your insurance as they may be able to provide equipment.

You need to dry it out which will require heating and a dehumidifier, windows open if you can to let the moisture out

Can you peel up the lino or is it thoroughly stuck down?l

Have you been able to fix the waste pipe connecti on or do you need a plumber out?

I’m not great at diy but always want to give things a go.
I’d get some towels on the carpet and
Use to get rid of a lot of the water and them I’d hire a dehumidifier.

With the lino it would depend on how it was edged where it meets the wall, and if it was lifting?

You'll need a wet vac (something like a vax) to suck up the surface water and then a good dehumidifier to pull water out of the air. If you go through your insurance, they'll sort it out.

Ps this feels bad but the amount of water used in a dishwasher or washing machine looks a lot but isn’t actually that much. Once it’s dried out the damage will be minimal.

Personally I wouldn't contact insurance for water on the carpet or under lino, especially downstairs and sitting on concrete. Would you ring the insurance if you spilled a whole mop and bucket of water? No.

Get your carpet professionally cleaned, explain what's happened. Ring the place you got your washer from if its damaged and it should be under warranty. If you get a plumper to fix it.

Our washing machine did the same thing, turns of one of the pipes wasn't long enough when fitted and came off and water went everywhere. We have lino and we managed to clean it all up and get DP brother out to fix the washer.

Thanks for the advice.

Do we need to go through the insurance? If it’s a necessity we can do but if we’re able to pick up some dehumidifiers & dry it out we’d be happy to give that a go. We just don’t know what’s best.

We tried ringing my partners dad, but he had a far more significant emergency going on.

We’ve fixed the connection & soaked all the water up we can from the kitchen. It’s more the potential damage we can’t see that we’re worried about. The Lino would probably lift up, but worried about relaying it 😖.

The carpet in the living room was probably only going to be there for another 12 months anyway as was looking dated.

Should we be worried about the kitchen cabinets 😳

A dehumidifier in the room for a week or so and just soak as much as you can up with towels or whatever you have to hand. I wouldn’t bother the insurance company over it.

I would also ring my dad. Have you a dad or do you know a friends dad that could call. They always know what to do.

A major knock on problem after a flood is moldy carpets/underlay and kitchen cabinets a few weeks down the line. Your insurance will cover replacement so definitely worth checking in with them. You're looking at potentially £1500 of fresh flooring here, plus whatever for the kitchen units. Much better if the insurance pays eh?

I personally wouldn’t go through the insurance especially because you are replacing the carpet soon. You need the dehumidifiers ASAP though.
Re kitchen cupboards they probably will be fine but unclip the base boards at the foot of the cupboards if the water is touching these in case they warp.
If you do have to replace these though they are fairly inexpensive.

I had a similar situation when the downstairs loo flooded. Pull up the carpet to allow it and the underlay to dry properly. I ended up having to replace part of the underlay as it got mouldy and stank. It's usually the underlay that causes the issue.

Your insurance might cover it but read the small print carefully. They are really sneaky.

Ignoring the flooding issue, please can I suggest that you don't leave dishwashers/washing machines/tumble driers on and go out and leave them so you're not back for the final spin/dry?

There have been many house fires started because these machines have overheated. Don't leave them unattended.

Ps most kitchen units are on plastic stilts covered by a base board. Unless the water is several inches deep you don’t need to worry about these.

If you contact the insurance they will most likely increase your premiums even if you don't make a claim.

See if you can get hold of a carpet cleaner that sucks up water and remove as much as you can, then dry it out. If the underlay doesn't dry out you may need to remove the carpets as it can cause mould which will in time, start to smell but worry about that later if you can't get the floor coverings up and concentrate on getting it dry.

Heating on and windows open once you have removed the water.

You dont need to go through insurance but its worth checking your policy specifically for emergency cover.

The policy we have premiums are not affected for emergency callouts so weve had plumbers and electricians at no cost. You may be able to get the dehumidifier rental free.

If we had then claimed for carpets etc, that would have affected premiums and had a payment required for the excess.

www.confused.com/home-insurance/guides/home-insurance-home-emergency-cover-what-counts-as-an-emergency

I had this happen. Call the insurance. Our premiums barely went up at all (about £50 a year) despite the total damage being about £7k. I had to have all downstairs flooring, doors, skirting boards, furniture and electrics replaced. Had to move out for a month whilst they installed industrial dryers.

It's a serious fire hazard to leave appliances running when the house is empty.

Check the pipes and the drain aren't blocked - if there is a load of gunk down the sink, it's possible that this caused the build up in pressure for the hoses to pop off in the first place.

Don't bother with lotions, potions and solutions to clear it - get a bucket underneath and unscrew the sink trap, empty and clean it (not under the tap don't ask me how I know this vital detail), check for gunk further down the waste pipe, check the DW and WM pipes, then put back together.