We had a customer with a leaky toilet valve and toddlers. As any parent can attest, toilets are pretty intriguing to a youngster’s mind and they love to see what can go down the toilet. In this case it was a couple bath toys that were just enough to allow the leaking toilet valve to overflow the toilet. It overflowed for a few hours before the homeowners caught the issue. They found some staining in the ceiling of the room below and were concerned about the tile floor in the bathroom.
When we arrived, the homeowners had wiped up the water and were mostly concerned about the potential for mold growth. They are selling the house and getting ready to move, so really didn’t want to file an insurance claim, but weren’t sure how much the whole project would cost. We checked moisture readings in the ceiling and found that it was already fairly dry and suggested they simply have their painter seal the stains before painting.
We evaluated the affected area in the bathroom, the source of the water damage, as well as their deductible. Normally in a situation with water damage in a bathroom we remove all the tile flooring and replace it to ensure all the coloring is a perfect match again. In this case, they only wanted to replace the affected tiles to keep the cost down and avoid filing a claim.
We explained that we could do that but would not guarantee the grout would be the exact same color as the rest of the floor. Grout gets dirty over time and tends to darken. Sometimes it can be cleaned and sometimes it can’t. We took a sample of the grout and matched it to the closest grout color available at our supplier and replaced the affected tiles.
The homeowners were so pleased with the work that they asked us to come back and do some additional clean-up in the master bathroom shower and tub where the tile grout had cracked over time. They felt like the master bathroom would be a key selling feature for their home and wanted it to be perfect so trusted us with the job.
If you have trouble with a toilet overflowing, or any other water damage in your home or are just getting ready to move and need some things taken care of before listing your home, give us a call day or night. We’re available to serve you 24 hours a day at (336) 203-0739.
Written By: Ben McDonald, Triad STOP Restoration – Winston-Salem, NC
