Water Intrusion

Here are some photos of a water intrusion problem we discovered while doing our weekly checks in Kings Lake. When we entered the unit we discovered water on the floor and upon further investigation we found mold & mildew behind the clothes washer and dryer. We reported it to the owners and referred them to Matthew Collier Disaster Cleanup a company who they hired to restore things back to normal. As you can see from the progression of photos the drywall was then removed, the mold & mildew were cleaned up and treated and the commercial dryer and air scrubber completely dried things out.

After they finished the cleanup they had to determine the source of the leak and much to their surprise they discovered that when the A/C unit was replaced the A/C company never glued the drain and only stubbed the 3/4 inch pipe into a 1 ½ drain that was only siliconed together.

Needless to say this was a disaster waiting to happen so now that they have corrected the problem the owners can rest easy that the problem has been taken care of and it won’t happen again.

A/C Vents

Here is an example of a problem we often find during the first weeks of checking a unit after owners have left for the season. In all likelihood it's the result of folks closing off A/C vents to prevent cool air drafts from blowing on them and then when they leave for the season they forget to re-open the A/C vents. The result can be elevated FPL Electric bills and if not discovered may even cause mildew to form from lack of ventilation. The photo on the left shows a closed vent while the one on the right shows the same vent after we opened it.

Damp-Rid Bags

Spoke with one of our new client who lives in the Vineyards and he told us about a problem he had with those Damp-Rid bags some folks hang inside their closets to prevent mildew. Seems he arrived last year only to find that one of the Damp-Rid bags had broken and the liquid spilled and soiled his rug, some clothing and a pair of shoes. He still wanted to use the bags but decided to prevent any re-occurance of last year by hanging the bags inside a bucket (see photo) in the event that they broke the liquid would collect inside the bucket instead of on his floor.

Rust Spots on Clothes

The following is something that happened to Sonny & Joy...Joy had been complaining about finding rust spots on some of her clothes after they had been run through the dryer and for the life of me I couldn't find the reason it was happening. Then...recently our building had the dryer vents cleaned and after that we began to notice excessive moisture buildup inside the dryer even though it wasn't being used. One time when I was checking the inside of the dryer trying to solve the rust problem I could feel warm air coming from inside the dryer. Upon further investigation I determined that whenever a unit under us (we live in a third floor condo) used their dryer we could feel the warm air coming out of ours. I reported this to our building president and we were about to call the vent cleaning company back to see if they could determine what was happening when I came across an item at Home Depot that cost $5 and solved our problem. It seems that whenever a downstairs dryer was being used, hot air would syphon back into our dryer. Pictured here is a Draft Blocker that allows air to flow out but prevents any air from flowing back into our dryer. If any of you experience this problem buying one of these and installing it where the clothes dryer vent pipe enters the wall will solve your problem.

Sewer Backup

Had another sewer pipe break in Cedar Hammock. Unfortunately the 1st floor is always the one that takes the hit….The unit is all set now, but the rebuilding process was time consuming. You just never know when bad workmanship will rear it’s ugly head. The good news is it was discovered fairly early because of our weekly check policy….Had this gone on longer, I hate to see what the outcome could have been. It took awhile but the problem was resolved with minimal damage done.

Main Water Shutoff

A client of ours in Forest Glen has decided to secure his main water shutoff to prevent any unauthorized use. As you can see from the photo he has affixed a lock and only Peace of Mind has access to the key. We unlock the water main turnoff and turn on the water to flush toilets then turn the water off and re-secure the lock. In our experience we have found water main's that have been turned ON after we have turned them OFF with the most likely culprit being lawn maintenance people.

Ceiling Leak

Recently we discovered a stain on the ceiling of a client in the Vineyards. Apparently the unit above our client's had a toilet problem and it caused water to intrude into the unit we were watching. We informed the our client and they in turn contacted their neighbor who was kind enough to have the problem repaired. With a problem of this nature, two things of note need to be pointed out. First the leak was not immediately evident to us. It was only after it had begun to dry that the stain was visible so whenever we find a problem like this we can't be sure when the leak actually occurred. Secondly, whenever there is a water problem of this nature, it is the owner who is responsible for the repair and not the person who caused the problem. This emphasizes why you need to have condo insurance.