Hints towards finding why bathroom floor is wet

[HMBMartin]

Periodically, my wife and I have noticed that our bathroom floor is wet. This seems to happen while we are traveling (water pump is confirmed off every time). Every time we've checked, our gray tanks are low and we don't see anything coming from or around the toilet. The faucet is always pointing into the sink.

I can't figure this out. My only speculation is that some water may be on the roof of the RV and is somehow getting into the bathroom when we take off. It is driving us crazy (short drive, I know).

Any hints to look for would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Soggy toes Sam

[nvestysly]

Hello, welcome to Air Forums. You've come to the right place for all things Airstream, including the Interstate.

You're on the right track and continued detective work will ultimately lead you to an answer. Here are a few thoughts:

Put a series of paper towels on the floor. Perhaps this will show you the direction from which the water originates.

Once in a while, even after we think we've thoroughly dried the shower, we will find water on the floor. Depending on the angle we were parked when we showered some water seems to remain behind the toilet and it will "roll" from behind the toilet to the shower floor. Ah, soggy toes.

We've also noticed the sometimes our sink leaks around the base of the faucet. Even when our pump is off, there is still pressure in the lines, so a small amount of water will leak down the front of the sink/wall and onto the floor. Ah, soggy toes.

We've also noticed water come in around the exhaust fan after a rain. Airstream didn't take into account the thickness of the roof system in the Interstate so the exhaust fan in our van doesn't snap closed. I looked at brand new Interstates and Airstream continues to overlook the snap-closed feature of the exhaust vent dome/lid. We solved the problem by removing the dome on the top of the van and adding a 1/4" spacer and longer screws. This allows the pull-down dome to snap closed so it securely seals on the gasket. Anyway, prior to our fix, this allowed water to come in from the roof periodically but only after a rain. Ah, soggy toes.

Good luck with your detective work. I think the paper towel idea will help you initially.

[Tronadora]

Sam, we have the same rig. Last year we were noticing the same mysterious appearance of floor water in the bathroom. We were told it must be the toilet fill valve leaking at the back of the toilet. For the life of me, I could not see the darn valve but later on the water appearance stopped, not sure why.

So, the paper towel thing is good... be sure to put some up behind the toilet too, to catch where it's starting.

Also, air gets into your plumbing when you switch water sources (shore vs. tank). I like to make sure I've opened the two faucets so air can sputter itself out and maybe that is a factor ....? As in, maybe pressure in the lines are helping spring a leak somewhere. My shower head handle connection point failed on me and I had to replace.

[amirm]

Ours does the same thing. I traced it to the pex fitting behind the toilet. Touch it and see if it is damp. It leaks very slowly but eventually makes a small puddle. Have yet to take it in to get it fixed.

[TexasMitch]

While traveling The toilet in my 2012 Classic would splash water out of the bowl and on to the floor sometimes. How full is the bowl while driving?

Good luck to you.

[J&J In A Can]

We found in ours that when flushing, the water can swirl around the rim so fast that it comes up and over the rim, onto the floor. It's pretty sneaky. I just turned the valve behind the toilet toward "off" a little to slow the water down. Seems to work.

[InterBlog]

OP, if you don't resolve it promptly, you could place one or more battery-operated water detectors in the area (e.g., one by the toilet, one under the sink) so that you can "catch it in the act" and thus zero in on the location.

The small detectors are about ten bucks each and IMO, it is a good idea to have a few installed in your rig whether water is actively leaking or not, simply because water and electrical components are situated in such close proximity. We have one or two under the galley cabinet (where we'd had a previous leak due to a fitting that worked its way loose), one in the driver's side cab pillar (where a lot of wires are run), one near the forward end of the black tank, and one in our battery chamber. You can see the last one labeled in the lower right hand section of this photo:

[jmh2015]

Water drips in from my the side of my bathroom vent fan during heavy rain and melting snow. I believe my leak is occurring because there is not sufficient caulk around one portion of the circular housing with extends through the roof, caused by the Airstream solar panel was installation. The original solar panel slightly overlapped a portion of the vent housing, causing water to channel to that point. I believe to resolve my problem, the solar panel attachment and caulking around the vent housing need to removed and reapplied.

[delrossa]

This happened to us. The problem we found was too much water in the toilet bowl when traveling.
I pulled out the manual to the the toilet and found that you should only have enough water to just cover the seal.
Haven’t had a problem since.
Hope yours is the same issue.

[HMBMartin]

<QUOTE>So, the paper towel thing is good... be sure to put some up behind the toilet too, to catch where it's starting.</QUOTE>

Thanks for the hint. This is a great idea.

<QUOTE>Also, air gets into your plumbing when you switch water sources (shore vs. tank). I like to make sure I've opened the two faucets so air can sputter itself out and maybe that is a factor ....? As in, maybe pressure in the lines are helping spring a leak somewhere. My shower head handle connection point failed on me and I had to replace.[/QUOTE]

I usually release pressure in the water lines before driving but sometimes the toilet is used while on the road. I'll make sure that pressure is released post flush.

We are planning to visit our Son in Portland so I'll try these hints and see if I can find the problem.

Cheers,

Soggy Toes Sam

[HMBMartin]

"While traveling The toilet in my 2012 Classic would splash water out of the bowl and on to the floor sometimes. How full is the bowl while driving?"

We hit this problem once and have been making sure it is empty before moving. Thanks for the pointer.

Cheers.

[HMBMartin]

Originally Posted by jmh2015

Water drips in from my the side of my bathroom vent fan during heavy rain and melting snow. I believe my leak is occurring because there is not sufficient caulk around one portion of the circular housing with extends through the roof, caused by the Airstream solar panel was installation. The original solar panel slightly overlapped a portion of the vent housing, causing water to channel to that point. I believe to resolve my problem, the solar panel attachment and caulking around the vent housing need to removed and reapplied.

We recently had our fan replace. The plastic blades shredded just days after receiving our rig. We had noticed water prior to that so I'm thinking is may be from some other location.

Cheers.

[ExStreamin]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

OP, if you don't resolve it promptly, you could place one or more battery-operated water detectors in the area (e.g., one by the toilet, one under the sink) so that you can "catch it in the act" and thus zero in on the location.

The small detectors are about ten bucks each and IMO, it is a good idea to have a few installed in your rig whether water is actively leaking or not, simply because water and electrical components are situated in such close proximity. We have one or two under the galley cabinet (where we'd had a previous leak due to a fitting that worked its way loose), one in the driver's side cab pillar (where a lot of wires are run), one near the forward end of the black tank, and one in our battery chamber. You can see the last one labeled in the lower right hand section of this photo:

Where do you purchase this detector?

[J&J In A Can]

Last weekend the ventline fan in our bathroom destroyed itself. When I replaced it, I found another way to get water on the bathroom floor when nothing appears to be leaking.


Beneath the cap on the roof, the one that moves up and down when the vent is opened and closed, there is a doughnut shaped U-channel with a drain hole. The drain hole on the U-channel is on the outside so that water accumulating in the channel can drain out onto the roof. Water really does accumulate when you drive in the rain.
If the drain hole somehow gets plugged, the U-channel will fill up with water that can slop over the edge either to the outside onto the roof, or to the inside into the bathroom. It can do its slopping when breaking, accelerating, or cornering. Or just because its full.



My drain hole was conveniently plugged with Sikaflex (sp?) by the factory. If you have mysterious water showing up on the bathroom floor, you may want to climb up and check your drain hole.