6mo ago

I have water slowly dripping and leaking into my ceiling and wall...any tips on helping me find the source?

Edit: Ok no worries guys it was definitely just the tub leaking! It just took several hours for it to stop dripping afterwards which is why I was confused at whether or not it was the tub or something else. All is well! It's a very infrequently used shower/tub so I hadn't noticed anything prior.

I'm guessing it's likely the tub drain itself that was leaking or it's possible one of the outflow pipes leaked from there. Either way it's not an urgent fix thankfully! I just posted this a bit hastily I suppose. I appreciate the comments!

Hello. So the other night I had a tub filled up with water for a prolonged period of time. I do not typically use the tub in that bathroom. The tub water was stagnant and thus the leak would not have been caused by inadequate caulking between the tub and wall.

Today I have awoken to find that my ceiling below the upstairs bathroom is wet and there is a dripping noise in the wall downstairs roughly under the tub.

I have drained the tub about 20 minutes ago, but there is still a slow, but continuous dripping noise in the wall below the bathroom. Since the dripping noise is still occurring at the same slow pace, does that mean it is unlikely to actually be dripping from the drain or pipework that drains from the tub?

My unit has a shared wall with the neighbor, so there is a chance that there is actually something leaking from their unit instead of mine.

Is there a way I can troubleshoot this a bit further without immediately ripping out the walls? Even if I can't find the exact source, just narrowing it down to something with the neighbor versus my own bathroom would be helpful.

I can't call a plumber right now because we literally just had a hurricane so they are going to be tied up for a bit.

Thanks all.

14 comments

Just to make sure I have the situation correct:
You filled a tub that you don’t normally use with water (for an emergency supply). A day or so later, the ceiling and wall directly below the tub are soaked. You then drained the water. 20 minutes later you still hear dripping so wonder if it was the water in the tub or something else.
It’s possible the supply line to the tub faucet cracked or otherwise started leaking when you filled the tub, but it seems much more likely that the water in the tub was the source.
The drain was plugged when the leak occurred, so the drain lines themselves are unlikely to be the issue.
This is a fiberglass/plastic tub, right? I think the tub itself is slowly leaking either from a hairline crack or from around the outside edge of the drain. This leak slowly soaked and pooled on the floor beneath the tub. Now you are hearing that pooled water drip down.
I’d do a careful crawl of the tub and see if you can find anything that appears to be a crack.
I’d keep listening to the drip rate in the wall and see if it’s subsiding. Hopefully it is. At that point, it’s figuring out what, if anything you can do for mitigation. My first thought is heat and airflow in the room with soaked walls/ceilings.
- Yes you have the situation correct! I wasn't sure if it was even the tub or not at first because it took multiple hours for the dripping to subside. I posted this a bit too early ...it was definitely the tub and the dripping has finally stopped.
  I assumed it was the seal around the tub drain leaking slowly, but I didn't think about the hairline crack thing. Upon careful examination of the tub basin, there are a bunch of small hairline scratches or possible cracks in the basin near the drain. I didn't realize that could happen tbh. Was hoping it was the drain because that seemed like an easier fix but now I'm not sure if it really is the basin itself leaking. Is there a way I can determine whether or not the scratches are cosmetic or whether or not this is the source of the leak?
  Either way, I'm glad it's not an immediate emergency!
  
  I had similar happen once. Look at the connection between the drain and the tub itself. For me, the plumbers putty that was in there was old and had gotten gross and cracked. It was fine when I showered, but when I put enough water in to fill the tub, it broke through with a leak. The water pooled up on a bit of subfloor, and dripped from there onto the drywall below. Even after the tub was empty, there was still some dripping till I dried everything out.
  What I had to do was just remove the drain, and reapply new putty. It's possible you have putty, or a gasket, or caulk in there that has failed. It's probably a pretty easy fix for you to replace it.

What type of tub is it? Free standing or one with a panel on the side?
If one with a panel on the side you can remove them by cutting the silicone, which will enable you to see the drain pipe and the trap, and you can then inspect it for leaks (use a dry piece of paper towel to test if a leak continues after drying it initially)
If it's due to a leak from the water supply pipes you could try turning off your water at the source/stop tap, open up your all the taps in the house and drain your system (I wouldn't suggest doing this if you have a water storage tank). If the dripping stops after doing this, it's likely to be your water supply pipes, as opposed to the drain.
- It's not free standing, but I don't see anything that resembles a panel. It's one of those fairly standard tub/shower combos.

Try to see if the local tool rental place has a thermal cam available to rent, that can be really really helpful to find the source of the leak. Another thing would be to use a horoscope, you'll potentially have to drill one, or more, small holes to feed it through but they would be no bigger than a medium sized wall anchor.
- I think Aquarius would be most relevant in this situation.
  
  Sometimes it is a Pisces that just seems to be Aquarius.
- Thank you for your comment, but stores aren't going to be open for a bit still. Do you have any toolless ideas in the meantime?

How wet is the ceiling? If the drywall has water damage you'll have to replace it anyway. Cut out a section and inspect the plumbing from underneath

I'm not an expert, so maybe someone can say if this might be a valid theory, but could it be that the weight of the water for a prolonged period has caused some pipe to come loose or something like that?
- That's an interesting theory. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if that can happen. Where do you think that would cause a pipe to come loose do you think?

water flows down so look at points above the wet zone

14 comments