07/27/2026
A temporary test device is never a substitute for completing the job correctly.
We recently responded to a water leak at a four-year-old lake house in Kingsland, Texas. The homeowner noticed water leaking into a garage closet where the water softener was located. Because this was a second home, the problem wasn’t discovered until significant damage had already occurred.
After opening the wall, we traced the leak to a 2-inch vertical drain coming from the second-story kitchen island sink. About one to two feet above the ground-floor level, we found a sanitary tee that had never been permanently capped.
Instead, an inflatable test ball appeared to have been left inside the opening. Its hose had been pushed back into the wall, and the area was buried under spray-foam insulation.
Test balls are temporary tools used while testing a plumbing system. They are not permanent plumbing fittings. Over time, this test ball lost pressure and could no longer seal the opening. Gray water from the kitchen sink—along with food waste from the garbage disposal—then escaped inside the wall.
The result was extensive moisture damage, mold growth, wastewater contamination, and drywall that will need to be removed and replaced.
We dug out the spray foam, removed the failed test ball, and permanently sealed the sanitary tee with a properly glued PVC cap. The contaminated materials, drying, mold remediation, and reconstruction will need to be handled by qualified restoration professionals.
What is hidden behind a wall still matters. Doing the job correctly the first time can prevent serious damage years later.
