Last year I nailed down the linoleum in my pantry with small brads because it was curling badly. This year during spring cleaning I noticed that the nails on the edge near the outer wall of the house are rusty. Does this mean a significant amount of water is seeping in from outside and I have to find and plug leaks or is this normal moisture?
Relevant information:
The house is a Queen Anne (frame). The floor of the pantry is just above where the wood structure meets the cinder block foundation.
Best Answer
You have to gather more information about how often the water gets there. Nails without coating (like zinc or anything else) will get rusty if you just wipe them with damp cloth and leave to dry. So nails being rusty only indicate that there was water at some point of time - it might be anything ranging from one time vapor condensation to washing floors to some major periodic leak.