Advice needed! How to sort out the mouldy wall under sink cupboard after a water leak which lasted for ages!

[Houseworkheadache]

Everything was certainly all dry last October right before we replaced the washer machine. We now think maybe the guy installing the machine accidentally knocked out/loosened some connections.

The leak was only discovered last night when I heard dripping sound. After quite a bit fussing about, we realised a connector screw was loose and water has been dripping constantly! It was probably the water intake pipe for the dishwasher. (I have no idea why only noticed last night!)

Anyway, it seems to have stopped after the screw was properly fastened. But the problem is the completely damp plaster under the sink with mould started growing.

My question:

1. The floor under the kitchen unit is rather messy, covered with all sorts of pipes and hoses lying across. I don't have a clear visibility to the far back because of that. So I was only able to clean up the water where I could reach. Shall I just rely on it to dry naturally?

2. The plaster! The water seems to have soaked up to about a metre high. I will try to clean up the surface use bleach. But I'm unsure how to deal with where I can't reach!

And also, I guess the plaster will just have to dry on it's own course and there's not much else I can do?

Can I use hairdryer to speed it up? Or just dehumidifier. But I also fear the remaining unreachable mould would get blown everywhere if I do so!

Some pictures to show the extent of problem.

Bumping for you.

I haven't seen @PigletJohn around for ages, but it might be worth a shout out

Buy a fan. An ordinary room fan. Not a fan heater.

Position it to blow on the wet wall. The moving air will accelerate evaporation.

Open the window or ventilate the room in some other way so that the water vapour evaporated off the wall can escape.

It will be quicker if you remove the cabinets, paint and plaster to expose the brickwork.

p.s.

Ask local friends and neighbours for recommendations of an experienced and competent local plumber.

A website where people pay to be listed is an advertising site, not a recommendation site, even if it uses a name intended to mislead.

It appears your pipework was fitted by a person wanting to create a novel art installation based on the life cycle of anacondas.

That is very dangerous with having electricals in that wet wall...

Unfortunately, it's a fitted kitchen. Even the dishwasher is built in. I can remove anything else lore than the two drawers under the sink and leaving the cupboard door open.

Will the fan spread the mould spores?

We did find the pipework layout a bit complicated... (The hoses of washing machine was bent and stretched to fit in the drain pipe). But not sure what the standard should be. It's just a very small space to have sink, washing machine and dishwasher all in one line. Can it be done in a better way?

If we find a plumber to redo the entire pipework, it supposedly could cost a fortune? (Yesterday I was told the hourly rate is £100plus vat for the 1st hour and then £80plus vat.)

Yes, it's absolutely not ideal. Is ther anything can be immediately at all?

In the long term, shall we move the sockets much higher above the worktop level? Presumably, the potential work involved would be quite extensive as all wires are behind the plaster/tiles above worktop?

There are mould spores everywhere, all the time. They only grow when they land on damp surfaces. You can spray the wall with a mould killer or dilute bleach if you want. I can't see much growth, just spots of mildew or black slime.

It looks to me like the cabinet has no back, so the wall is exposed.

Otherwise, you can cut out the backs of cabinets. Most often they are just made of hardboard.

Thank you, @PigletJohn .

Yes, the cabinet has not back. So the plaster is exposed. It turns out to be helpful in this unfortunate scenario.

BTW you can take the doors off. The hinges might have an inconspicuous black plastic or chrome button you can press to release. If not you can undo the screws.

The button is at the back of the horizontal part that attaches to the bracket in the side of the cabinet. You will need close up photos to identify it. I only use Blum hinges which are easy when you know how.

You just need to dry it out, get a fan, position it at the worst bit, then move it every few hours, use a mini fan for under cabinets ...yes it will take many days to dry out. Maybe a week, plaster is like a sponge.

Wait until everything is totally dry then spray with a mould killer,(get right behind the cabinets) reposition the fan, wait a few more days and paint everything you can see with anti mould paint.. monitor.

This may be enough. you really don't want to start ripping out cupboards etc.

I've dealt with a similar issue, the above solved it.