Prevent water leak in your kitchen

A water leak often starts with small amounts of water. Even big water leaks can start with small leakages. In the beginning the leak might be so small that you probably don’t even notice that it has started. The reason for leakage can be numerous because everywhere water is present there is danger of leaking water. It can be due to leaking drainpipes or a water pipe for incoming water that suddenly starts to leak. Other places where leakage can occur are from kitchen appliances like the refrigerator, the freezer and the dishwasher.

Every leak of water inside the house is more or less a disaster that usually involves a lot of work, time and money to repair the damage the leak has caused. If it is a big leak it can be quite substantial no matter how quick we fix it.

There are several places in the kitchen where small water leakage can occur without we noticing and they are:

• Damp or leakage behind or under the refrigerator,
• Damp or leakage behind or under the freezer
• Leakage or dripping under the dishwasher
• Leakage or dripping under the kitchen sink

Small water leakage can with time become big water damage or cause big damage in the floor or in the wall. Slow dripping can spread mould and dump to the walls and the underlying floors which can cause health problems. These small and slow leakages are often difficult to explore in time, because the water is first sucked into the construction in the walls and the floor. We will probably reveal the damage first when the construction is water-saturated and then the damage is already done! The small leaks can also be a first warning before a pipe/hose or a pipe connection bursts and drowns your home in water. So, therefor it is better to be safe than sorry.

The best way to prevent damage from leaking water is of course to have waterproof flooring. But if you don’t have such a floor in the kitchen there are simple ways to improve the existing flooring.

You can install alarm that uses sensors to warn when a pipe or hose is broken or when water flows out on the floor. Such alarms can be connected to your mobile phone or what ever you see fit and provide excellent protection against water leaks.

But there are also easier ways to get some protection that also can be used as a complement to the leakage alarm with the aid of a specially designed underlay.

The underlay is designed in a way that every leakage of water will run out on the floor in front of the home appliances. In that way you will quickly notice that water is leaking and get a chance to fix it and prevent a big water damage in your house.

The underlay is very easy to install and everyone can do it. You simply pull out the home appliance, place the leakage protection on the floor and put the appliance back on its place. You can see the outer part of the underlay sticking out under the dishwasher in the photo!

Another place where leakage can occur is under the kitchen sink. An easy way to notice a leakage under the kitchen sink is to check the cabinet regularly and to use a leakage protection here too. The best leakage protection for use in the sink cupboard is to create a waterproof flooring inside the cupboard which will prevent leaking water to sneak in under the cabinet and the floor beneath. Watch the video below to see how it is designed!

Other easy tips!

• Check the dishwasher now and then so water doesn't leak.
• Check fittings and hoses regularly.
• Check so the dishwasher hoses haven’t become dry and crumble.
• Remember to check the hoses and fittings under the sink also.
• Turn off the water to the dishwasher when you go away for a longer time.

The number one tip to prevent bigger disaster is to only use the appliances when you are home and can monitor them.