flooded kitchen

How To Quickly Stop a Flooded Kitchen (At The Source!)

ByDino Pelle

Trust me, there’s nothing worse than a homeowner walking into an unexpectedly flooded kitchen. It’s happened to me as well. And it happens to hundreds of homeowners across America every single day.

Two of the common culprits are dishwasher floods and refrigerator leaks. If you find flooding on your kitchen floor, then you need to know how to stop it immediately before any water damage occurs.

Flooded Kitchen Instructions

By learning these two techniques, you could nip a potentially huge expense in the bud. Water damage from a flooded kitchen can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

Once you’ve stopped the kitchen leak, you can call your plumber to solve the problem. If any damage has occurred to your floors or walls, you’ll be connected with a professional restoration company that can properly dry and restore your kitchen while ensuring no toxic mold growth occurs.

1. Dishwasher-Flooded Kitchen

Stopping a dishwasher flood in its tracks is surprisingly easy. There are just three (or possibly four) steps. You can get these completed in less than a few minutes with no special tools or experience.

  1. Turn off the electrical switch for the dishwasher. The switch is probably located on the wall above (or near) the dishwasher.
  2. Now turn off the water supply to the dishwasher. It will be located under the kitchen sink or below the dishwasher and the floor framing.
  3. Finally, if you can’t find the shutoff valve that is specific to the dishwasher, find the shutoff valve for the entire house. It’s called a main shutoff valve and it’s usually located near the water meter inside your basement or your water heater. It will commonly be found on or near the wall facing the front street. In an apartment, it might be located in a utility closet.
  4. Call your plumber to repair the leak and turn back on the water.
flooded kitchen - dishwasher shutoff valve diagram
You can find the water shutoff valve for the dishwasher underneath the kitchen sink in most cases. If you don’t have one, go into your basement to find the main shutoff valve for the entire house. If you’re living in a rental unit, look for it in a utility closet.

2. Refrigerator-Flooded Kitchen

Putting a stop to a refrigerator that’s causing a kitchen flood can also be fast and easy. Here are the five actions you need to take.

  1. A significant leak can be triggered by the water supply to the icemaker. Often, the problem is from a damaged water line that feeds into your refrigerator’s icemaker. This water line is either metal (usually copper) or plastic tubing. Locate the shutoff valve behind the refrigerator (or in the floor framing just below the refrigerator) and turn it off.
  2. As in the instruction above, turn off the main water shutoff valve (for the whole house) if you can’t find the refrigerator shutoff valve.
  3. If the leak is really small, it could be (A) an overflow in the drain pan below the refrigerator, (B) a plugged internal drain line, (C) condensation on the door gaskets, or (D) a defrosting problem. Check the operation of the refrigerator and the pan below the refrigerator. Normally, you can remove the lower front grill of your fridge for this inspection.
  4. Condensation of the door gaskets during hot, humid weather can be eliminated by turning the gasket heater on. Look for a switch inside the refrigerator labelled “heat” or “hot/cold weather” or “door heater.”
  5. If the problem is a leak from your icemaker line (it’s a think copper tube behind your refrigerator), then call your plumber for repairs. If the leak is coming from one of the other issues noted above, contact an appliance repair shop. To deal with any kitchen flooding water damage, your plumber can connect you with a water damage restoration professional.
flooded kitchen - refrigerator water line for ice maker
Check behind the refrigerator to make sure the water line that feeds into your refrigerator (from the wall or floor) isn’t leaking. This is a common cause of refrigerators flooding a kitchen floor.

Final Thoughts

Stopping the source of a kitchen leak is, unfortunately, the easy part. The real problem comes from the water damage that results from a flooded kitchen.

When contacting a professional for help, make sure they specialize in water damage and offer a true emergency plumbing service. Most plumbers claim to be emergency plumbers, but what they really do is take your call then schedule you when they’re able. A true emergency plumber will understand the urgency of the problem and send someone out immediately.

Call 1-Tom-Plumber

Don’t hesitate to contact us here or call us at 1-Tom-Plumber (1-866-758-6237) if you need urgent assistance with a flooded kitchen.

1-Tom-Plumber’s certified team of plumbers and drain technicians respond immediately to any emergency plumbing, drain cleaning, or water damage problem. We also handle the excavation of underground water lines and sewer main lines. Our immediate-response team is available every day and night of the year, even on holidays.

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