I’m seeing baseboards swell 48 hours after a “minor” dishwasher leak — surfaces look fine, but the meter hits 16–20% behind toe kicks and IR confirms. I know it’s frustrating when you don’t see damage, then a week later you’re staring at cupped flooring. If you’re filing, push for a full moisture map and photo log on day one; it speeds approvals and reduces surprises — anyone else getting carrier pushback on early dehus/containment?
And had this with a ‘minor’ dishwasher leak; water wicked under the toe-kicks like coffee up a napkin. If the meter is 16–20%, pop the toe-kicks and drill a few 1/4-inch weep holes behind the baseboard to push air in, then run a dehu and a couple movers until you can log a ‘full moisture map’ back under 12%. Small caveat: some carriers balk at baseboard removal without approval, so snap photos of readings and IR first to keep the claim smooth.
Quick tip from last week: I pulled one baseboard near the dishwasher, used a small cavity-drying adapter to push air behind the drywall, and logged sill-plate readings every 12 hours — approvals were quicker and no cupping. Agree on the moisture map; just watch meter settings, @olivia_scott88 — softwood frames can read “wet” when they’re just cold, so cross-check with a pinless or you’ll chase ghosts.
Had a “minor” dishwasher leak do this — , the face dried but the sill plate stayed wet. At about 48 hours with “16–20%” I’ll go in from the garage/closet side, make a couple small backside inspection holes, and run a $30 borescope to verify wet insulation/plate before committing to kitchen demo, then grab meter-in-frame photos for the file. Caveat: IR can normalize once the room warms, so pins and backside readings usually carry more weight — @OP do your adjusters accept that approach?