Thanks Weedmeister. Hmmmm, this brings up another issue I briefly read about on another thread. I don't know anything about this and would have never thought of it on my own. If we turn off the water supply, flip the breaker on the hot water heater and don't drain it, will the water be skunky monkey when we return a couple months later? Or, when we fire it up upon returning will that kill the bugs? After all, this does supply our kitchen. Draining it is not gonna happen, and I am probably making a mountain out of a mole hill here, but just thinking out loud. I wish my heater was on an outside wall. That would help. No such luck. The original floor plans called for this water heater to be installed in the attic. Our builders told us how much more trouble and expense it would be to install it that way. They convinced us to put it in this pantry closet. I don't think the attic would have been any better.....maybe in some ways even worse. Every replacement would have meant dragging a water heater up one of those pull down attic stair deals. Yikes! Makes my back hurt just thinking about it. Thank you.....thank you all.

If this is as troublesome as it sounds, you may want to hire a "leak finder" service. What they do is purge your lines, then pressurize them with air and listen for leaks with a sonic-detection instrument and ear-phones. More typically used for underground leaks but I believe viable for hidden leaks in walls, too. They're expensive...I would estimate a visit would be maybe 300 range. However, I can tell you from experience that they're good. They will pinpoint the leak location for you. May be worth a phone call if you're out of cheaper alternatives. At least they could explain what they do and allow you to consider. I would also notify your insurance carrier. I suspect they'll help you. If so, they will cover this service as well.

kitchenredo2 - Thanks for posting so many options, plus the one at Home Depot. I've been looking into these since my 2nd story washer leaked (came new with a sliced drain hose). I have found tons of options online, but nothing at Lowes, HD and Menards. Your link shows that they actually do carry them at my local HD. I will definitely buy one for my dryer pan and try it out. Where would you all put them in your kitchen - under the sink, near the frig? I asked my plumber and several Sears repair tech's if they could recommend any of the brands, but no one was actually aware of the differences or had worked with one. Love to hear from anyone who's used one.

I have a couple. One in each bathroom under the sink, one by the water heater, one by the washer, one near the top if the sump hole, and one for under the kitchen sink. I had one with a sensor for under the DW, but I couldn't get it positioned in a helpful place. So I got a plastic pan that sets under it instead to let the water come out the front where it can be seen. Sure they have limitations, but they are not expensive. The one in the sump hole has already saved us once, so I consider them to have paid for themselves already. And I get to tell DH I was right, not crazy :-)