When Your Dishwasher Rots Your Kitchen Floor: How To Address This Issue
Proper installation of a dishwasher should never result in leaks or water damage. If you are experiencing this issue, you need to contact the contractor that installed the dishwasher. He or she should be willing to correct the problem. If you are experiencing these issues in less than a month from installation, your service call should be free. If you are unaware of leaks, and these leaks rot out your kitchen floor, here is how to address this serious issue.
Have a Construction Contractor and a Plumber Evaluate
Clearly, a rotten floor is not what you signed up for when you requested the installation of a washer. Have a plumber evaluate the problem from a plumbing standpoint, and a contractor from a remodeling and restoration standpoint. Take quotes for repairs from both. Repeat this process a couple more times to make sure you have a clear picture of the damages and what it will cost to repair them. Since the water leaking behind the appliance and through the floor is responsible for all damage underneath, make sure any losses of items in the basement below are included as well.
Submit the Quotes to Your Insurance Company
When the damage to your floors is this severe, you need to submit the quotes to your insurance company. It is highly likely that the insurance company will find someone cheaper than the contractors you found, and you will still have to pay your deductible for the year. Then you can get your kitchen and dishwasher fixed.
Floor First, Appliance Repair Second
Since the improperly installed dishwasher has caused all of this damage to your kitchen floor and everything beneath it, the floor needs to be repaired first. This area of your kitchen may be gutted in order to correct the damages. Then the plumber can repair your dishwasher, correct the issues it was having with improper installation, and reinstall it so that this does not happen again. If you cannot get a plumber for the job because of insurance restrictions, appliance repair services will have an expert on hand who can help.
Sign Check for Repairs over to the Contractors
Most insurance companies will agree to repairs based on their estimates. They will send you a check for that amount, minus your deductible. You then have to either cash it to pay the contractors and appliance repair technicians separately, or sign the check over to the floor restoration contractor and use your deductible to pay the appliance repair technician or plumber for their services.
