The following shots depict what many fear most: A water leak while on vacation. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. In this case, the toilet fill valve in the upstairs hall bath didn't shut off completely, but the homeowners didn't notice it before they left town for a few days. Note where the leak even filled the drywall on the walls with water.
Toilet fill valves not shutting off completely are common enough, but normally, any excess water falls harmlessly down the overflow, bypassing the flush valve, where it goes into the bowl and then down the drain. Here, the difference between no damage and a huge insurance claim was simply the height of the overflow. See, the level of the overflow was higher than the level of the flush handle, so instead of going down the overflow, the water went out the handle hole and onto the floor, and over the floor, and through the floor, and....
Even the carpeting throughout the same floor as the offending toilet was totally soaked. By capillary action, water had wicked into the hallway and the bedroom.
In the picture below, the circled spot on the ceiling is 15 horizontal feet from the toilet.
The two problem components had material costs of:
New fill valve...................................under $20
Shortening overflow on existing flush valve....$0.
Things like this make it a good idea to shut off your water main before you leave on a trip.
New fill valve...................................under $20
Shortening overflow on existing flush valve....$0.
Things like this make it a good idea to shut off your water main before you leave on a trip.