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Rug Stays Wet from Broken Pipe in ConcreteThis report was commissioned by the cleaner.THE RUG COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States FIBER/ ID METHOD: Nylon TYPE: Tufted Cut-Looped Carpet Made Into A Rug DESIGN: Floral TYPE DWELLING: Residential TIME AT THIS LOCATION: 4 years FLOORING UNDERNEATH: HardWood DATE PURCHASED by OWNER: October 1991 ESTIMATE VALUE AT TIME TIME Not Available USE & MAINTENANCE INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION ADULTS: 3 CHILDREN: 2 PETS: 0 TEMPERATURE: 76.3°F - 24.6° C RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 68% VACUUM TYPE: Built-In FREQUENCY: Bi-Weekly DO THEY SMOKE? Not Determined ENTRY MATS: Yes CONDITION of THE RUG: Very Good SOIL: None Noticeable HEATING TYPE: Central Force Air Gas COOLING TYPE: Central - Electric HOME SPOTTING AGENTS: Not Determined CLEANING: Professional METHOD: Truckmount Steam TYPE OF CHEMICAL: DATE LAST CLEAN: 8/12/95 TREATMENTS APPLIED: None REASON FOR COMMISSION The hardwood flooring underneath two rugs has discolored. THE REPORT Geographical Background Information This free standing house in on a small island , in a residential development in the coastal part of Orange County. The maintenance in very good. The condition of the house is excellent. THE CLAIM HISTORY The commissioner of this report cleaned the claimant’s carpet and rugs back in January of 1995 and again in August of the same year. The January cleaning was the first reported cleaning for the rugs. Upon removing the rugs for the second cleaning a foul odor was noticed along with a change of hue of the hard wood floor. The claimant also reports that there has been some water damage problems from the dish washer in the kitchen and with the washing-machine in the laundry room. In addition to that the house has under gone some reconstruction. According to the cleaning company the rugs in question were cleaned on the claimant’s driveway using a ‘Truckmounted Carpet Cleaning Machine’ and used ‘Spin Pad’ afterwards to accelerate the drying process. The rest of the carpet in the house reportedly dried within the day. PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION BY THE INSPECTOR The first rug in question lays in front entrance door and can be seen in photograph number one. The second rug normally lays under the dining room table in the rectangle seen in the drawing below. At the time of the inspection the dining-room rug was rolled up and was laying under the dining-room table. The hue of the hardwood floor is light, but the areas where the rugs normally lay are dark with a light-black hue as seen in photographs numbers one and two. The discolored area conforms to the size of the rug. The wood floor also is slightly buckled in an area that starts near the window area in the dining-room and runs intermittently to the front door. The rugs themselves have rubberized backings. The door-way rug lays on top of the moisture barrier but is not attached to it. the dining-room rug backing on the other hand is attached to the moisture barrier. There is a small garden beyond the dining-room, between the patio and the house. There is an automatic sprinkler in this garden area as seen in photograph number four. There is also a swimming pool in the patio area as seen in the drawing. FIELD TESTING Numerous moisture tests were performed using a TRAMEX moisture encounter. This devise measures the percentage of moisture in the area that was being tested. This devise is suitable for measuring moister in wood and concrete. The results of these tests revealed that the moisture readings were in excess of 20% in most of the areas where the rugs laid and also beyond the rugs in a line that ran from the front door to the back window as illustrated in the drawing above. THE ISSUE OF THIS REPORT The question that I have been asked to address is: where did the moisture come from? CONDITIONS THAT CAN CAUSE THE PROBLEM Moisture trapped under a moisture barrier such as these rugs can come from: 1. excessive moisture left there from the previous cleaning 2. or it could come up through the floor underneath the rugs. 3. INDUSTRY STANDARDS, PRACTICES & DEFINITIONS According to the IICRC FIELD REFERENCE GUIDE overwetting is defined as follows: overwetting - During cleaning, application of excessive moisture coupled with failure to extract an adequate amount, thus resulting in prolonged drying. Overwetting is almost invariably traced to technician error. Wicking is defined as follows: wicking - The upward migration of moisture or other substances during drying. THE INSPECTOR'S ANALYSIS The ‘Truckmounted Carpet Extraction Process’ generally is not known to have drying problems if the equipment is working properly. The installed carpet in this dwelling was not reported to have an over-wetness problem. Also, the use of a ‘Spin Pad’ should have left the rug in suitable condition to be laid back into place. Since moisture moves upwards, this inspector can find no reasonable explanation on how water could travel from the top side of the carpet where the face yarns are located and migrate to the backside of the rug. If moisture were for some reason already on the backside of the rug when it was laid, it would not explain why moisture reading and buckling where found in the area between the two rugs. The most suitable explanation of where the moisture is coming from would be from the subfloor underneath the hardwood floor. The high moisture readings from the moisture sensor would best fit this explanation. CONCLUSION The moisture in question has come from the subflooring based upon the moisture readings taken at the inspection. |