Kitchen Drain Pipe Leaks Behind Wall Downstairs

[jegan]

Yesterday while running the dishwasher, I noticed a leak down staris in the basement (split foyer home). This leak is not directly beneath the kitchen dishwasher or sink, but the water from the leak down staris was hot, and the dishwasher was the only hot water runnging in the house.

I then tested the sink in the kitchen after the leak had stopped (after stopping the dishwasher), and low and behold, more hot water (running hot water in the kitchen sink).

It looks to me like there is a problem with the water draining from the kitchen since the water pressure in the kitchen is not effected (i.e. no leak in the water going to the kitchen). So, I'm thinking that there's a leak in the drain pipe somewhere in the wall where it is leaking down stairs (where the wall meets the ceiling, about 6 - 7 feet away from kitchen).

Does this sound right? And if so, is there anything that I can do since it appears to be behind a wall? It was also raining hard last night, but I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with it, right?

Thanks for the help,
Jason

[hj]

You are the only one who can determine whether the rain had anything to do with the leak, but if it was really hot water then probably not. Run the sink again after the leak stops. If it starts again it is the drain pipe, and until you know where the leak is, there is no way to tell what you have to do to have it fixed.

[jadnashua]

Do you have your dishwasher attached to the drain via a garbage disposal? I ask because on one of mine, the stub that the hose connected to corroded and leaked. I had to replace the disposal. When I took it apart, I found it had literally been eaten away from the caustic soaps - looked like swiss cheese. Double check this first. Course there could be a leak in the hose as well. Make sure there is no water under the sink, if that is dry, then it is probably the drain line. But, this is easier, if your situation is the same as mine was. Since you get a leak when you run the sink, if it was the hose, it couldn't be far from where it connets to the drain, since it wouldn't go up at all.