Leak through kitchen ceiling - help!

[rrrrachel]

So our toilet cistern overflowed, and it poured through the light fittings in the kitchen downstairs. Plumber has fixed toilet so no more water is leaking, but I'm worried about how to dry out between the ceiling and floor. I'm pregnant and paranoid about mould which I've heard can be dangerous if it's allowed to grow.

We haven't taken the lino or floorboards up in the bathroom, or done anything with the kitchen ceiling, but there are big brown patches where the water came through, and it's in several different places.

As it was a one-off will it now just dry out by itself or do we need to get someone in to remove part of ceiling or take up floor? And if so, who? A normal builder?

Electrician is coming to check lights over to make sure the electrics are safe. Just not sure what our next steps are...

 

[footprints]

As long as your electrics are ok I would not worry, as long as your house is warm and ventilated the ceiling will dry out, water should not be lying in a massive puddle under the floor.

The ceiling will stain and no amount of over painting with emulsion will cover it, after it is fully dry give it two coats of stain block Zinsser Bullseye 123 is a good one then paint as usual.

You can get damp testers very cheaply to test the ceiling is dry if you want to, if it is plasterboard it may just crumble if it was very wet, but wait and see just feeling the patch with your hand and comparing to an undamaged area of the ceiling should be enough to see if it is dry enough to paint

 

[rrrrachel]

Thanks - not at all bothered about stains (we can paint as you suggest!) but just anxious about what's going on above the ceiling.

A lot of water poured out of the light fittings over about 5-10 minutes but no more after we turned the water off and got the loo fixed. There have been no more drips and the ceiling is not bulging. I hope whatever was up there has all come out now.

The house is warm and we are leaving all windows and back door open at the moment. I find it hard to believe that the cavity above ceiling will get enough air to dry out though...

 

[footprints]

It's surprising how much draught there is under a floor the older the house the more noticeable it is.

For the purposes of laying gas pipes that must be ventilated if in a duct, the area under floor is however considered a "ventilated space" and requires no extra ventilation.

If it really worries you get a floorboard lifted to see for your self, but I can say in 40 odd years of lifting floorboards the only time I have found any mould is where there is a long standing damp problem, not from a one off spillage.