We have carpet over concrete and rainy season (and a few
overflowed tubs and one ... Backed of septic system ... I've
seen said issue. Indeed it is mystifying. I have a possible
answer that comes with corresponding emotion of true/this is
fact. Ignore carpet. You have water on the concrete. Huge
puddles. Carpet only shows initial boot print at first but the
puddle of water was already present in other nearby areas under
the carpet - only revealed later. Fibers in carpet and towel
alike hold surprisingly less water than a concrete floor can.
Corn starch holds more, but may be too messy for cleanup.
Unfinished concrete is also an excellent sponge with many tiny
hiding holes for water. Porous. Caves. Carpet has caves too but
not as many. Also if you have carpet padding underneath...
That's a SPONGE of HUGE surface area. Yet ... I believe most of
the water was on the concrete itself. Passed through quickly but
was slower on it's return back up to the surface where you can
see it and a towel could pick perhaps a 1/2 cup of water at a
time off of. I measured a few years ago. (Found flax seed a
perfect temporary damn maker for broken AC drip tray - glutinous
but amazing. I experimented with many things to soak up/ contain
water.. Many surprises. Corn starch also a winner. Messy too.
But this was on concrete/painted latex. Different scenario
altogether. Water on a balloon vs water on a really hard sponge.
(Unfin conc). Thus ends brain dump. Thoughts welcomed. Humans
are lucky with our silicon skin producing silicon oils. Makes us
nice and waterproof. Poor concrete gets soaked. Even latex
(rubber/paint/a balloon stretched over surfaces) isn't as good
as our silicon skin. That's why we wash up so easily. Paint
doesn't stick to silicon caulking but it does to concrete, which
is fluffy. Interesting to note: Portland cement is made by
hydration. It hardens when wet. Humidifiers help as well. We've
had to use them.
Also concrete isn't always level. Usually isn't. So - puddles.
And... sideways water movement across carpet padding/spreading
across cement floor itself.
Oh, and fans pointed at the floor. Disaster cleanup uses lots of
fans to dry up flooded houses. But shopvacs are definitely the
best.
I'll check philosophy forum to get more info - after coffee.
need coffee Thank you for the tag. And yes, as much as I
pretended to have answers, they're merely speculations and
pretention on my part. (pretention - pretend - cool, didn't
notice obvious connection between words lol).
So yeah, I was pretending to have a clue. It's one of those
head-scratchers. "How did the water get here?"
Water is an amazing substance. A mysterious leak in a roof can
have a source that's no where near the drip spot... and the
cause may be entirely invisible unless the roof (concave porch
roof - giant bucket when gutters are slow) - is filled with
water. THEN the mysterious hole appears... but still.. far away
from the drip... a lifted up piece of caulking a millimeter
tall... a stray tiny bug gets stuck under a bit of loosening tar
sealant making a temporary valve that washes away upon later
inspection... and reseals itself partially upon being heated by
the sun... or maybe the heavy water moves the whole porch a tiny
big away from the rest of the house.. but then it shifts back
when it drains...
we never get enough facts to solve some problems. Just
head-scratchers. ah I was reading things out of order.
Is the crack one built-in to help the house deal with expansion
and contraction from the cold... or for drainage? My basement in
NJ had a thin crack running all around the outer walls. For
winter expansion and also to allow drainage in case of flooding.
This would occasionally result in flooded basement during heavy
rains... as the same thing that drains... also works both ways.
Houses rarely are safely completely sealed from the
surroundings. Without some give and take from the surrounding
area, a flood can make a house float away. Water that's allowed
to "get inside" on occasion can help anchor the house in
place... part of the local ... ecosystem? (not sure if right
word).
Think of a plastic bowl in mud. Push the bowl down in the mud.
Now think of a spaghetti strainer in mud. Push the strainer down
in the mud.
So be sure crack isn't intentional.. lest your house decides to
go sliding one day.... or floating.. Vapor barriers are also
something tricky in construction. My knowledge here is also just
a limited, but I will pretentiously pretend to have a plausable
story anyway.
Vapor barriers (plastic sheets) put on in incorrectly can end up
rotting wood, causing mold problems in concrete, etc. Has
something to do with the difference in humidity (water levels -
water again) - between inside and outside of house.. and the
whole "sweating glass in the summertime" effect.
Condensation and whatnot.
Water is amazing. Destroys everything in its path eventually. We
drink it. It's healthy. Amazing stuff. THIS COMMENT IS NOT ABOUT
THE NAIL.
[1]CJ Love the story of your grandma here. See: "It's Not About
the Nail" video for reference material.[I had great difficulty
explaining the concept to somebody just yesterday - well three -
three grown men who _should_ understand why it's not about the
nail by now... but I forget the power of societal dichotomies
between male/female [as opposed to biological-in-origin
dichotomy, which is more of a spectrum.. but anyway]
Anyway...yeah. If you said, "This is the problem, not that",
she'd get upset I mean, yes, she's trying to solve your water
problem too, but that's not her main concern. She wants to be
your grandma and all that goes along with it. It includes such
things as boots. You are a wise grandson indeed, and she, a wise
grandma.
Those three guys I was arguing with on the youtube forum who
were calling the woman "stupid", didn't understand what she was
really all about. [and, I wouldn't be surprised if they had poor
relationships with their mothers and/or grandmothers.. but
that's just speculation on my part - generalizing from a limited
set of data]
[2]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg - this only seems
to be digression. It's not. But I'll go back to our regularly
scheduled leaky floor program after this brief related message.
THIS COMMENT *IS* ABOUT THE NAIL.
[3]
http://inspectapedia.com/str.../Concrete_Crack_Diagnosis.php
here ye, here [4]CJ - [doesn't rhyme dang it! - my poetic sense
is stifled].
Inspecopedia, while no site is perfect, is a supurb resource to
compare/contrast real-world probs with.
References
Visible links
1.
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2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg&hc_location=ufi
3.
http://inspectapedia.com/structure/Concrete_Crack_Diagnosis.php?hc_location=ufi
4.
https://www.facebook.com/cj.cj.39?hc_location=ufi
