argh, slight emergency and don't know what to do/who to call, please help.

[ditavonteesed]

just had a lovely relaxing bath (just scene setting here) and walked downstairs wjhile bath is draining to get my head dripped on swiftly follwed by slipping over in a puddle on the dining room floor. Celining is still dripping.

Who do I call? Also have no cash, will house insurance cover?

also its right above my head where I am about to sit and do some work, is the ceiling liely to collapse on me?

Call your insurer. They'll be able to tell you if you're covered pretty quickly.
But move away from under the drip first!

oh no!

Can you remove the bath panel (side of bath) and have a look? It sounds as though the pipes draining the bath are leaking. If you get under there, you should be able to mop up any excess water and prevent further damage. You may even be able to see the pipe that is loose and fix yourself.

The only other time I have had this happen was where the overflow wasn't properly plumbed in, so water went straight onto the floor.

If that all sounds too tricky, call a plumber!

If it doesn't stop dripping, you might want to locate your stop cock and turn off the water.

Also, I wouldn't turn on any lights in that area until you are sure it is dry.

Yep, side of the bath off, see if you can see the problem. We had this recently and there is an isolator lever under the bath, and turning that off stopped the water flowing to the bath without having to turn all the water off.

Insurance is likely to pay for damage resulting from the problem but not fixing the problem itself unless you have specific emergencies cover.

Ours was caused by an unsealed overflow outlet - dh likes his baths deep .

ok so side is off, draining bit doesn't seem to be leaking, I even turned the tap on and nothing so I can only assume it is the over flow I too like my baths deep. dripping has stopped. will leave panel off so it can dry and ban deep baths.

also there is a water mark on the ceiling exactly where it was dripping so does that suggest it has happened before but not as much as to drip through. I am thinking it must be the overflow pipe, I ran the bath too hot so filled it right up to the top and let it drain from the overflow which I dont normally do.

This happened in my bedroom, via my bedroom ceiling, when DH was having a long soak in the upstairs bathroom. I put a bucket there, and we called a plumber who just told us it was the overflow.
It's happened twice in twenty years. Mysterious.

Connect the overflow to the plug/drain/outlet when you can (to save a repeat) also, in the event that it is near the light, Isolate the entire lighting ring (usually "downstairs lights") as there'll be a permanent live in there.

Switch it back on when you're sure it's dried out - though in fairness it will usually trip out if it gets wet. Just better to be safe than sorry.

the overflow looks like it is connected. Not near the lights down here thank goodness. do you think it is ok to write it off as one of those things and check it next time someone has a bath. When I turned the taps on so they were running straight out there wasnt even a drip on the outlet pipe.

If it stops dripping and dries out, I would leave it until it is convenient but keep an eye on it.

Things I've had are the shower attachment dripping onto the side of the bath where it then found a badly sealed part and leaked through and the isolation valve on one of the taps leaking.

This happened to me except the whole tub's worth of water had formed a pond downstairs.

My ceiling didn't collapse (though that is a possibility so it would be daft to sit beneath it until you're sure).

I called out a plumber who found that the waste pipe had completely detached. In your case sounds like it might just be coming loose. Don't use the bath again until it's been addressed. Cost me around £50 to get it sorted.

can you see water marks under the bath from where it was leaking?

dh has had a bath and it is definatly the emptying pipe not the overflow I'll have o call a plumber, I couldnt see any water but when he pulled the plug out there were drips on the pipe.

Could it be that the extra weight of water (& possibly your DH) has made the bath "sag" a bit & pull away from the pipe? I.e. only leaks when fully loaded, not when empty and you run tap?

Does the bath drain freely? Sometimes hair and gunk clogs the pipe and then the pressure of water trying to drain past it causes the join to leak. I know this because my upstairs neighbour has it happen about every six months and the last time he did it he took a plunger to it with the bath still full of water. Now I have a new kitchen ceiling.

Anyway, it can be worth chucking some one-shot down if the bath drain seems sluggish. But be wary with plungers.

tighten the screw in the middle of the plughole. It might be that the waste has loosened.

Unless you have a pop-up waste, in which case hire a skip to put it in and buy an ordinary waste with a plug.

Thanks I have tightened the screw in the middle of the plug, got 3 whole turns does that mean that was the problem? Will go and buy drain cleaner as soon as the shops open.

I can't see anything obviously looking cracked underneath and it really was just drips not running water on the pipe.

will see if that works before calling someone out.

right well putting drain cleaner down has allowed me to find the leak, it is the pipe betweek the overflow and the bath, must have a little split or something. Got a plumber coming this afternoon, hoping it wont be too major a deal.

Well done dita - handled like a pro!

It's good to get it sorted out properly - otherwise it will keep happening and every time someone has a bath you'll be pulling out the brollies!

Once the ceiling is dry, minor damage is easy to sort out - you need stain block and then a lick of paint.

thnks holly, I feel like a flapping panicky person. Have had to take the day off uni to sort it so am using the time to clean everything, can't believe how gross stuff is when you start to look under and behind things. My mum is having dc for tea tonight so I have asked her to dump them in the bath as well. so that should sort that issue. Wondering if I can get the plumber to look at the cold tap that doesn't work as well while he is here.

You didn't flap - you got right on top of it. But I know what you mean about the emotional side of it. There is something so panic-inducing about water coming through a ceiling. And YYY to how filthy it is underneath/behind things. Not to mention SPIDERS, waaaaah!

Definitely a good time to get all those niggles sorted. You'll only pay one call-out charge that way.

so far 2 leaks, not yet fixed, but the tap works which is a bonus. Going to get him to look at the leaky toilet as well while he's here. poor bloke doesn't know what he was coming in to. years worth of little jobs.

this is rapidly losing its humour value, plumber has had to go and get parts, can see the £££ racking up before my eyes.