Matt Kelly (video creator) discusses finding mold in an Airbnb in Lyon and explains why an apparent toilet-area leak was likely rainwater entering via a plumbing vent or other exterior penetration, not a pipe leak. He describes how vent pipes function (allow air into plumbing and exhaust sewer gases), why vent penetrations can channel water into interiors, and recommends inspecting penetrations, recognizing caulk is not permanent (approximate max lifespan ~10 years), and using mechanical barriers in addition to caulk.
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But what I could tell outside was that the roof next door is sloping towards this wall. And so that combines with the fact that this is a pipe and it's an opening in the enclosure that it's likely to be something that's. In this case, I think this is rainwater leaking into here and that it has nothing to do with the plumbing. Per. Hello, good morning, wherever you are. I'm still in Lyon, but we did end up finding a little bit of mold in this apartment that we rented. It is an Airbnb and it does have. It is super clean. And we're packing, getting ready to leave. However, I'm going to talk to you about it because it's kind of interesting. So it has to do with toilets. Now, toilets have a lot of pieces. And this is a really small little bathroom room. So you can see it there behind me. It's a teeny, tiny little door. And we're gonna go into the bathroom room compartment. Oops, I gotta turn the light on. And I'll show you what we found. So this is hard. Did you see right there behind me, that line? And I'll post some pictures in the comments for this video of what you can see there. And that's the toilet and the tank, and then there's the pipe. What's probably really happening there? And I did look outside as well. That pipe is a vent pipe. So all plumbing has something called vent pipes. And what that is is pipes that go outside and allow air into the pipes, into the plumbing pipes themselves and allow air to sewer gases to be exhausted. So when water is going down the drain, one for a drain to work, it's just like if you have a jug of water and maybe it has a flip top and you don't have a way for water to get in to push the other water out. The same thing is true in pipes. So the vent pipe is adding air into the pipe system and also allowing sewer gases to be expelled so that the water can go down and that air can be displaced with water and debris going down the drain. So in this case, it might look like that pipe is leaking, but I don't think that's actually what's happening. I did look outside in this location because it's a vent pipe, it should not have water in it at all. It should only have air. It's above the height of the toilet. We're at basically the top floor of this building. There's a little bedroom above here, but there's no bathroom and no water. So that leak is probably from where this pipe is exiting the building itself, whether it's through the roof or the wall. And I couldn't really tell outside, but what I could tell outside was that the roof next door is sloping towards this wall. And so that combines with the fact that this is a pipe and it's an opening in the enclosure that it's likely to be something that's. In this case, I think this is rainwater leaking into here and that it has nothing to do with the plumbing per se. The plumbing isn't leaking, but the plumbing often acts as a chase for water to go in a path of least resistance. So sometimes it looks like something is a plumbing leak when it's really just the water has found the path of least resistance when it got into the building. So we didn't have any reactions to this. We have tons. There's tons and tons of windows in this place. You can see out behind me there. And that other wall, there's almost half the floor space in open windows that we are opening. So I didn't notice anything. But it is. It has been going on for a very long time. I suspect that it's only become noticeable now. So it's probably pretty bad behind there. We will tell the landlord about it and I'll tell her what I think about it, but it happens. It happens everywhere that there is rain ever. And. And there isn't anywhere on the planet that doesn't have rain at least a little bit at some time. I think even deserts get rain. So know that that's another place to look when you're looking for water damage and mold, is to look at vent pipes or any other pipe or protrusion. Sometimes it could be even water outlet or outlets for electrical. Anything that protrudes through the enclosure, and that's the walls, through the floors, through the ceiling, through the roof. All those places can be added through. Water can then also come in. And even if they were fine when they were installed, and this does happen as well, things move, things change. Caulk lasts at the most 10 years. 10 years. So if someone's telling you they're caulking something is a permanent solution, know that that's not a permanent solution and that it's going to be maintenance and checking on a yearly basis. Because the maximum is 10 years, it doesn't mean it's going to make it that far. And if building components move, and they often do for a variety of reasons, sometimes it can be from wind, sometimes it can be for moisture expansion and contraction. Even ice will move things that caulk is. Caulk should be the final barrier, but not the but not the only barrier. There should be other barriers beyond behind the caulk that are more mechanical. So that's my tip for today. Check your plumbing Any openings in an enclosure, especially plumbing vents. This does have water coming into the tank and then the sewer pipe goes down. So usually the sewer venture is associated with the toilet stack and the toilet stack goes down into the ground to the sewer and also up and out the roof. So I hope this is helpful. I look forward to seeing at our next event.
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