Ceiling Water Leaks: How to Detect and Repair Hidden Leaks
Have you noticed the slightest discolorations on the ceiling? Before you see the source, you might find a significant water leakage problem in the roof. Before you opt for ceiling repair, identify the leak with the best water leak detector, see its origin and stop it as soon as possible.
These water droplets come from the ceiling due to subsequent leaks. The problem arises since most homeowners overlook the damage. If you want to fix ceiling water leaks, read this blog to know the types of leaks, the process to repair them, and who to call for water leak in the ceiling.
Indications of Ceiling Water Leaks
Before you ponder, “how do you find a hidden water leak,” here are some signs that allow a quick understanding of hidden water leaks.
Flaky paints
Since the water gets concentrated on the particular portion of the ceiling for an extended period, you will notice the paint starting to flake.
Sagging topside covering
From the source of leakage, the water continuously passes through. In addition, if you have coated the ceiling with waterproof solutions, the water will accumulate in one place and affect the coating to sag. These are signs of moderate level water leakage, which will aggravate over time. If not repaired quickly, it can cause increased damage like an infestation and a musty smell to the other rooms.
Discoloration on the ceiling
When water leaks inconsistently appear, there are seen either water spots or ceiling discoloration. Ceiling water stains cause discoloration in the form of rings. With time, these spots get dried, but the signs of discoloration remain.
Different Types Of Ceiling Leaks
Here are some of the most prominent ceiling leaks you can often encounter in your house.
Roof leakage
Impaired shingles or roof tiles trigger the problem of ceiling leakage. These issues are not limited to the summer or rainy season but can be easily seen in winter. The constant freezing and melting of snow over the spoiled roof make the clustered ice pass through the roof and gradually damage the ceiling.
Plumbing damage
Most of the time, the plumbing leakage appears due to locating the bathroom or kitchen above the ceiling. It is seen that plumbing damage mainly occurs in bathrooms, thus causing dripping down through the roof. The plumbing leaks often occur from sweating pipe in winter or summer, wearing off the filter, or pipe fittings rust.
Ruptured pipe
Many times, the pipes burst due to frequent alterations in weather conditions.
Typically, the water expansions are caused by cold weather resulting in this condition. How do you fix a broken ceiling pipe? First, call a professional plumbing service to repair the pipe at the earliest to ensure an uninterrupted water supply throughout your home.
Defective appliances
Malfunctioned electric appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines are directly attached to the drain lines, and the water supply system leads to ceiling leakage. The floor beneath these appliances’ placement mainly causes water accumulation on the floor.
What Tools Do You Need To Detect The Water Leakage At The Ceiling?
Here is a list of some of the most used water leak detection tools that help in finding out the water leaks.
For external leakage checks, you will need:
- Extension ladder
- Prybar
- Hammer
- Flashlight
- Cordless drill
For internal leaks, here is a list of some of the critical equipment:
- Tape measure
- Bucket
- Flashlight
- Gloves
- Painter’s chalk
- Cordless drill
- Breathing protection
- Moisture detector
- Ladder
- Tub drain wrench
How do you find a hidden water leak?
Identifying the source of water leakage in the ceiling is pretty challenging. However, your job can become easier with the provocation of the rainstorm. It needs two persons to find out the hidden leaks. One person has to stay on the roof with a hose to create water passage in the isolated spaces of the roof. The other person will stay inside to inform whether water is dripping from the ceiling.
First, segregate the areas, and then look into the small spaces for faultless findings. It needs patience and observation skills to identify the leakage. After these many efforts, remove the tiles to cross-check the source if you can’t pinpoint the leak. Now, you can get to identify a plumbing leakage or burst pipe.
How to stop leakage from the ceiling?
By now, you have seen that spotting the leakage spot is not a very difficult task. A little expertise in handling tools and chemical mixing can help prevent brown water from leaking from the ceiling. There’s a saying that prevention is better than cure, and it’s not an exception for ceiling leakage. Please go through the following tips to stop leakage from the ceiling or roof and help sustain it for more years.
- Practice regular inspection with a gap of two weeks, or a minimum once monthly. Occasionally, ceiling leakage results from constant negligence or overlooking of the problem.
- Always keep your roof clean so no rainwater can get waterlogged at the drain. The more water accumulated over the top, the greater the possibility of water leakage through dripping walls.
- Always clean the water tank and inspect the area to notice any cracks or damage.
- Opt for waterproof painting or coating to your walls, ceilings, and roofs.
- If you notice any cracks in the roof, immediately call a professional to repair it with mortar. You can do it yourself or contact the best-known water leak damage repair service to help make your roof highly durable.
What to do if water leaks through the ceiling?
If you encounter drywall swelling, paint bubbling, or brown rings formed at the ceiling, it’s high time to call the expert water leak repair services. Before you fix anything, opt to prevent the water from spreading out, leading to further damage. Once the leakage is spotted, it’s time to control the damage. Here is a step-by-step direction for preventing the water from leaking through the ceiling.
Get waterproof containers for catching the dripping water.
Line up with several containers to hold the water. Border the containers with an old, clean towel to prevent the water from splattering here and there.
Cover up or move the furniture, if required
If you don’t want unnecessary damage to your valuable décor items, move them to a safe place or cover them with a waterproof tablecloth, shower curtain, or tent to not get in touch with leakage water. If you don’t do anything with your furniture placement, your furniture might attract unnecessary infestation or discoloration.
Soak up the floor with a mop
Not removing the water fast enough can lead to the development of mildew or mold on the floor. Hence, cover the floor with a mop or unused towels so that the leaked water gets soaked fast. You can even employ a dry vacuum to fasten the process of soaking.
Make a small drainage hole.
It might seem unreasonable, but it is an excellent solution for draining the leakage water downward. To prevent the severe damage to the building material and the spreading of the water across the roof, bring a robust stool to the center of the spot to make the hole with a screwdriver.
You need to ensure that something remains underneath to hold the water. If you feel skeptical about making a hole in the ceiling, you have to repair the roof with the support of water leak detection services if the water gets soaked up through it.
Give a call to an experienced plumbing company.
With so many measures, if you cannot spot the primary source of leakage, you can rely on the outside weather condition to find the type of leakage. If you encounter extreme downpour leakage, it will be the roof leakage. If there’s no sign of rain, although you have experienced water leakage through the ceiling, it results from plumbing leakage.
Employ the permanent solution with the professional repair services to fix the ceiling water leakage
Roof leakage has been a prevalent issue in every household. The best water leak detector’s easy use helps you identify the source so you can get it professionally repaired soon. A specialized water leak damage repair service ensures pinpointing the exact source and potential after-effects of the ceiling leakage. These experts have gone through extensive training and usage of high-grade equipment like dehumidifiers, moisture meters, exhaust fans, and others to resolve the issue from the core.
The most diligent team of Cali’s Choice Plumbing & Restoration takes incredible attention to providing all-inclusive leak repair and plumbing restoration services to get you rid of leakage emergencies. With state-of-the-art technology, the leak detection experts easily locate the leak sources and perform a quick repair without causing your face any disruption. Don’t hesitate to contact us! Prevent your home from further damage.
