I got damp tiles on the floor in my bathroom.
I also noticed rising damp on tiles fixed to a wall from exterior side of the bathroom.
Pictures:
I think it is a leaking pipe installed bellow the tiles but not 100% sure.
As I remeber the pipe was installed somewhere close to the area where I see the damp so the leakage is likely to be true but….
From the other side of a coin just before the problem shows up we were cleaning the patio with a preasure cleaner and it was very extensive cleaning as we were preparing it for sealing/painting job.
The patio is a cross of the bathroom wall and I belive high preasure pushed a lot of water in to the concrete below the tiles as they are not not well grouted, so this could be the other case.
Leaking toilet output could be a case as well.
To check posible pipe leak I have done simple test with a water meter like this:
1) Checked that all outside connection (shower, sinks, garden outputs) are not leaking.
2) Closed all outgoing water sources and took a picture of a meter at that stage.
3) Than, after 40 min I took another picture of the meter.
As you can see on the image bellow the gauge has moved sligtly in this 40 min. This would indicate water loss.
I'm not sure how to read the gauge, what exactly is the loss and what it could mean.
What further steps to take to make sure whats wrong?
Thank you.
I'm adding an update with a third measurement following 5 hours after the send one. In my view they all show nearly 1 liter leaking a day. Could someone validate please?
Best Answer
There's no way to positively say whether it's the pipe or the pressure washer. The water meter readings may, or may not, be meaningful - that water could be going somewhere legitimate as Daniel Grissom said, and it's a very small amount of water. To check the pipe you'll have to get access to it, which means tearing up the tile. So what's more likely - a pipe started leaking at the same time that you pressure washed the patio, or that water got into the wall while you were pressure washing? If it was me, I'd get several fans blowing on the damp area for a few days to see if it drys up. If it makes no difference after a week, then maybe you need to dig into the tile.