Would You Call Pro Help for Flooded Toilet if You Caught Immediately?

[kyphysics]

Tried to flush toilet and it was clogged. Water overflowed onto bathroom floor with some touching baseboards of walls.

We were there obviously (so not like hours of water sitting there) and tried to clean-up immediately (as nasty as it was). After 1 hour or so, we could dry the floor (paper towels, cloth, towels, etc.) and base boards. Only fear is that there could have been water that seeped behind the base boards and touched walls and remains back there and causes moisture mold. On the seal of the toilet touching the floor, it was kind of peeled back a little (the caulk or whatever that sealant is called wasn't perfect), so a fear is that water seeped down into the floor below that seal.

But, it wouldn't have been a lot (maybe a few spoonfuls at worst - if it did)...It costs a lot to call in pro help. Could be $500 for them to tear off baseboards, remove toilet and maybe tear up the floor underneath it.

Thoughts? Is this a possible DIY situation? Anyone ever have an overflowed toilet that caught immediately and just cleaned it up themselves?

 

[S.G. Janssens]

Do you have a good heating in the bathroom? Then turn it on, and make sure there is ventilation. From your description, I would not call someone. Tearing everything up for this sounds mad to me.

 

[DaveC426913]

In my totally layperson opinion, water damage comes from continuous or frequent water incursion. One spill should not be a problem.

Couldn't hurt to put in a big blower fan temporarily.

 

[Borg]

I've had to deal with an overflowed toilet a few times and I wouldn't consider it a big deal if you cleaned it up right away. Anything in the walls should dry out quickly enough.

The worst one was when my wife called me at work to come home for an overflowed toilet once. She hadn't dealt with a clogged toilet before and thought she just needed to flush it a second time - which of course sent an entire tank of water all over the bathroom.

I came home to find her and her mother standing in the kitchen below the bathroom trying to clean water pouring out of the ceiling. The big problem was they were barefoot, had the kitchen light on, and were trying to clean the ceiling near the light. Not wanting them to be electrocuted, I ordered everyone out, turned off the light and fixed the problems. Later, I pulled the light out (4 foot fluorescent) and checked in the ceiling for any damage.

That was about ten years ago and we haven't had any issues from that disaster. You should be OK with yours.

 

[kyphysics]

Do you have a good heating in the bathroom? Then turn it on, and make sure there is ventilation. From your description, I would not call someone. Tearing everything up for this sounds mad to me.

Heating is do-able. I also have a dehumidifier. The boundary between bathroom floor tile and hallway carpet was slightly wet too. Just realized that, but it was pretty minor.

Best guess is that 2 ounces of water hit the base boards and 2 ounces hit the carpet (at worst) - spread across a foot or two (so not concentrated). That's a worst case...It may be more like .5 ounce spread across a foot.

 

[kyphysics]

In my totally layperson opinion, water damage comes from continuous or frequent water incursion. One spill should not be a problem.

Couldn't hurt to put in a big blower fan temporarily.

Yes, fan and dehu put in area. I tend to think you're right. I'll try to post a picture later for opinion. It might be laughable that I'd consider calling professional help, but it's just one of those fears...of the unknown.

Thanks for the perspective, though!

I've had to deal with an overflowed toilet a few times and I wouldn't consider it a big deal if you cleaned it up right away. Anything in the walls should dry out quickly enough.

The worst one was when my wife called me at work to come home for an overflowed toilet once. She hadn't dealt with a clogged toilet before and thought she just needed to flush it a second time - which of course sent an entire tank of water all over the bathroom.

I came home to find her and her mother standing in the kitchen below the bathroom trying to clean water pouring out of the ceiling. The big problem was they were barefoot, had the kitchen light on, and were trying to clean the ceiling near the light. Not wanting them to be electrocuted, I ordered everyone out, turned off the light and fixed the problems. Later, I pulled the light out (4 foot fluorescent) and checked in the ceiling for any damage.

That was about ten years ago and we haven't had any issues from that disaster. You should be OK with yours.

hahahahaha re: kitchen scene with lights. Not laughing about possible electrocution, but just the shock (no pun intended) of seeing that and the immediate logical concern. I think I'd have felt the same.

Now, in YOUR case, did YOU call professional help? You mentioned doing some stuff yourself, but I'd think water through a ceiling requires pro help.

re: flushing second time - YUP - been there before. Except the entire toilet bowl's water didn't come out. It was about...1/4 thank God. I cleaned that up with rags and never called for help. Only reason I considered it this time was that the water wasn't in center of floor this time entirely and some touched the base boards, carpet, and possibly a tiny amount flowed into the crack between the tile and bottom of toilet (where the sealant had gotten old and ripped up a little).

 

[DaveC426913]

...and thought she just needed to flush it a second time...

 

[russ_watters]

Do you have a good heating in the bathroom? Then turn it on, and make sure there is ventilation. From your description, I would not call someone. Tearing everything up for this sounds mad to me.

And what's the weather like there? Temperature/humidity? If it's below about 50F it is going to be dry enough (with some added heating) that it should all dry out. I agree this doesn't require ripping-up the walls/floor.

 

[Klystron]

Roughly 20 years ago I owned and maintained a large two-story house with several bedroom suites for myself and my adult children with numerous full bathrooms.

but I'd think water through a ceiling requires pro help.

For various reasons including missing overflow drains on the upstairs baths, we experienced several water events over the years.

The first and most spectacular event occurred overnight in the suite shared by my daughter and 2 year old granddaughter who had just learned to draw her own bath at her daddy's home unbeknown to her mother.

Having returned the previous day from an assignment in Washington D.C., I awoke from deep jet-lagged sleep with my daughter literally dragging me by the arm downstairs to the garage under their rooms.

Was I still asleep and dreaming? Water cascaded in sheets, flowed in rivers and streamed in giant drops from openings in the ceiling, loud as a natural waterfall; found outlets via grooves I had added to the cement floors to facilitate cleaning and for flushing water tanks; mixing with rain runoff on the driveway from a rare thunderstorm.

Water continued falling for some time even after closing the upstairs faucet from impromptu reservoirs in the building materials between floors. Water must have flowed for hours while the household slept, my son away on deployment in the middle east, my daughter deeply asleep in her bed above the soaked carpets. I stared as water fell, intrigued by this spectacle.

After notifying home insurance company, we proceeded to vacuum water using my 17 gallon shop-vac with water attachments. As professional help arrived, we deployed several large fans that ran for days in the desert climate along with portable heaters and dehumidifiers. While we avoided mold and other moisture damage, the second floor East side never seemed quite level post inundation.

Eventually professionals replaced the upstairs subfloor, pads, carpet and wall mouldings, and repainted areas showing water damage; costs covered by mandatory homeowner insurance with help from our HOA (homeowner association).

In my initial groggy state I did not consider electrical problems. Despite the shortcoming in not providing overflow drains in the bathtubs, the house was otherwise well built with wiring enclosed in conduit and outlets protected by GFI (ground-fault interrupts). Oddly, the bathtubs did have overflow drains but covered by a stainless-steel plate without a path for water. Caveat emptor; as always.

 

[kyphysics]

And what's the weather like there? Temperature/humidity? If it's below about 50F it is going to be dry enough (with some added heating) that it should all dry out. I agree this doesn't require ripping-up the walls/floor.

70 degrees + 40 relative humidity on my dehu reading Got a fan blowing right now...

Do you have a good heating in the bathroom? Then turn it on, and make sure there is ventilation. From your description, I would not call someone. Tearing everything up for this sounds mad to me.

Okay, thanks. Sure, I'll turn on some heat.

 

[kyphysics]

View attachment 294659

To be fair, most people would probably think of flushing twice. It's human instinct. ...First flush doesn't undo clog...maybe it loosened it you think to yourself or maybe you think you didn't flush hard enough (sounds weird, but I've had that thought before...even if it's unlikely)...

Second flush = disaster...overflow. I think this has probably happened to every single human before.

 

[Borg]

Now, in YOUR case, did YOU call professional help? You mentioned doing some stuff yourself, but I'd think water through a ceiling requires pro help.

No, I didn't feel the need for a professional to do anything and took care of it all myself.

That incident had a side benefit such that I learned that our kitchen's electrical was not wired correctly. In order to check the ceiling for damage, I had to turn off the power so that I could remove the light. I asked my wife to stay in the kitchen while I turned off the breakers one by one until I found the one that powered the lights. I worked my way through the entire panel, turning each off and then back on if it had no effect. However, the light never went off. I thought that maybe she wasn't paying attention but she swore that it never went off. So, I turned off every breaker in the panel and the light finally went out. I then started turning breakers back on until she said that the light was on. I then turned that breaker off and continued working through the rest of the breakers when she called out that the light was on again. Turns out that the original wiring from when the house was built used two breakers on the same circuit. I now leave one of them off all of the time.

 

[Astronuc]

Thoughts? Is this a possible DIY situation? Anyone ever have an overflowed toilet that caught immediately and just cleaned it up themselves?

In my case, it's DIY. I've had to unstop toilets before, and I keep a plunger handy. If they drain slowly, I pour a bucket of hot water in the bowl, which usually softens up whatever is blocking.

During my first summer at university, I took a job on campus as a plumber's helper (bascially a journeyman plumber). I ended up repairing most of the lavatories, showers and toilets in 8 dormitories. By the end of summer, I had a lot of experience. During the second year at university, I worked part time as a plumber and mechanic. I had to unplug a number of toilets, and when we had a dramatic flood (heavy rain event), I spent few days pumping out building basements and replacing/repairing pumps and motors. My favorite part was working in the 'steam tunnels' sevicing or replacing steam and condensate piping and equipment.

The work help payed for my tuition. The job also lead to a part time job in the food service (washing dishes mostly), which paid my room and board at university.

 

[Tom.G]

Turns out that the original wiring from when the house was built used two breakers on the same circuit. I now leave one of them off all of the time.

GET THEE AN ELECTRICIAN ASAP!
That is wired such that the load current is shared between the two breakers. That means about twice the current can be drawn before the breakers trip... and I would bet that the wiring is rated for one breaker.

I know, "but I have safely turned off one breaker."... And can you guarantee that no one will ever turn on both of them!

(Remember that your insurance will not cover consequences of this.)

Please be safe, not sorry.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Borg]

I do understand the importance. Nobody in this house except myself would go near the box so that's not a problem. I suspect that there are two individual circuits wired in the house and that there is some point where they were connected together in a circuit box somewhere. Can an electrician find that without tearing the house apart?

 

[hmmm27]

Not sure I'd worry at all about a couple of ounces of sewage under the floorboards, but...

Enzyme somethingorother... pet accident mitigation stuff.

 

[hutchphd]

I know, "but I have safely turned off one breaker."... And can you guarantee that no one will ever turn on both of them!

Equally bad is that the downstream side of the open breaker is now "hot" and anybody working on the box is subject to a nasty surprise. Get an electrician to check the wiring and bring the house to code. If it is an isolated screwup it should not be difficult. If it is worse, then better safe than sorry.