An unexplained plumbing mystery

[MaggieMae]

Just before 2PM today, I was walking the short distance from my den/office to the kitchen and stepped into a pool of water about the size a half-gallon of spilled water would make.

I backtracked a few feet to the bathroom, and there was nothing overrunning or leaking there.

Stepping over the water in the small hall and into the kitchen, the water seemed to have started around one corner of the refrigerator, which is next to the dishwasher, which is next to the kitchen sink. There was no pooling or overflow in either of those, so I zeroed in on something leaking from the frig, although both the main unit as well as the freezer were both running at normal temperature levels.

So I called the maintenance man, who pulled out the frig. Again, no water beneath the frig. He even unscrewed the entire backing and again could find no leak.

Nothing was leaking from the ceiling, and no water coming up through the floor. It hadn't rained since yesterday (and I would have noticed before now, if it had been caused by rain).

We're both stumped.

I'm curious if anyone here has any building construction or plumbing experience that might explain this phenomena. Without one, I have to conclude that I have a friendly ghost who likes to play tricks.

 

[AllieBaba]

Have you watched The Ring???

Don't.

 

[xsited1]

Better get to the hospital because it sounds like your water broke.

 

[MaggieMae]

Have you watched The Ring???

Don't.

I've seen it. I do believe in paranormal activity, and like most people, I've had experiences that seem other-worldly, but this is one where two people saw the same thing at the same time, and so far it can't just be filed away in "There's probably a simple explanation" box.

 

[AllieBaba]

Maggie, it wasn't a documentary.

 

[MaggieMae]

Better get to the hospital because it sounds like your water broke.

And before I posted it, I did expect the comedians to arrive in full force. Patrick (maintenance guy) and I were joking around as to what it could be: Like "Looks like I drank a quart, passed out, then peed before I made it to the bathroom!" Hahaha, but no. Sleepwalking? No. It was the middle of the day. It doesn't smell like urine, doesn't smell like beer, and my water jug has the same amount in it that it did earlier this morning, so I didn't black out and pour water on the floor myself.

 

[xsited1]

Better get to the hospital because it sounds like your water broke.

And before I posted it, I did expect the comedians to arrive in full force. Patrick (maintenance guy) and I were joking around as to what it could be: Like "Looks like I drank a quart, passed out, then peed before I made it to the bathroom!" Hahaha, but no. Sleepwalking? No. It was the middle of the day. It doesn't smell like urine, doesn't smell like beer, and my water jug has the same amount in it that it did earlier this morning, so I didn't black out and pour water on the floor myself.

Did you drop some ice cubes on the floor last night and either didn't notice or just forgot?

 

[AllieBaba]

I would say get the fuck away from it until someone figures out what it is and where it came from. Who knows what they're doing upstairs; chemicals can do some freaky shit.

 

[strollingbones]

most likely condensation on the bowl or tank.....that is why you cant find the source of the leak

 

[AllieBaba]

Or it's freon.

 

[AllieBaba]

Is freon flammable? Maggie you might want to think twice before lighting a match.

 

[rightwinger]

My money says you have a leak in the dishwasher

 

[uscitizen]

Defrost cycle on the fridge? And a leak?

 

[MaggieMae]

Maggie, it wasn't a documentary.

I know that. Something about watching a certain video and dying. Not very scary or realistic. Why is it relevant?

 

[MaggieMae]

Better get to the hospital because it sounds like your water broke.

And before I posted it, I did expect the comedians to arrive in full force. Patrick (maintenance guy) and I were joking around as to what it could be: Like "Looks like I drank a quart, passed out, then peed before I made it to the bathroom!" Hahaha, but no. Sleepwalking? No. It was the middle of the day. It doesn't smell like urine, doesn't smell like beer, and my water jug has the same amount in it that it did earlier this morning, so I didn't black out and pour water on the floor myself.

Did you drop some ice cubes on the floor last night and either didn't notice or just forgot?

No. I'd been back and forth across that same floor several times between 6AM and 11AM, which is when I sat down at my computer; then logged off and headed toward the kitchen just before 2PM which is when I noticed it. So it happened between 11AM and 2PM. I don't drink anything with ice cubes in it until 7PM.

 

[RadiomanATL]

Look under the sink, while the faucet is running. See if you have a small leak coming from the pea trap, or a leak from the dishwasher.

Oftentimes, it will run out of the corner of the cabinet in a very unobtrusive manner, and wind up pooling in another part of the floor, due to the floor having a slight dip/depression that you can't detect with eyes or by feel.

Happened to me at my house. Pooled in the middle of the living room floor, after traveling underneath a wall from the kitchen.

 

[Nosmo King]

When the de-frost cycle works in the freezer, the melted ice is supposed to trickle down a tube and get evaporated by the heat generated by the compressor. If that tube is block by dirt, the water will collect rather than trickle. I recommend you once again look at the back of the refrigerator and double check that drip tube for obstructions.

 

[uscitizen]

I wondered what whould happen when I dropped the micro black hole generator in the lake, now I know where the nano wormhole wound up.

 

[MaggieMae]

I would say get the fuck away from it until someone figures out what it is and where it came from. Who knows what they're doing upstairs; chemicals can do some freaky shit.

It's all mopped up now. I have no neighbors living upstairs, and only one abuts my unit, with a firewall between (all one floor dwellings).

The building itself is old, though, circa 1920's, and all remodeled but some of the old pipes which run the length of the entire building were simply covered up. It's also brick, so Patrick thought maybe it could have something to do with the torrential rain yesterday soaking through the brick and causing some old pipe in the basement area to burst and the water was slowly seeping up through the flooring.

 

[MaggieMae]

most likely condensation on the bowl or tank.....that is why you cant find the source of the leak

I've had that happen in other houses, but there was leak and no water in the bathroom at all. It's the first place I checked.