Help - leak through ceiling?

[Anothernamechangeplease]

I'm on my own at the moment while dh is overseas for a (very) extended period. Struggling to stay on top of house stuff alongside a very demanding job, teen dd, responsibilities for ageing parents etc. Various things have gone wrong with house and car since dh has been away, including boiler packing up etc. Having new boiler fitted next week.

A couple of years ago, we has a leak from our bathroom through to the kitchen ceiling. It left some staining on the ceiling/walls that we hadn't got round to sorting out. I kind of stopped noticing it for a while, but now I'm sure that the area has got quite a bit bigger/significantly worse. I think this happened so gradually that I just didn't see it - initially I wondered if I was imagining it, but now I'm sure that it wasn't anything like as bad as it is now. There is no dripping water etc, so I think it must be a slow leak of some sort?

I'm so worried that it will cause a fire or that the ceiling will cave in or something. Who do I need to sort it out - a plumber, presumably, and then what - a builder if the wooden floorboards are potentially rotting? Can it wait until the plumber is in to do the boiler at the end of next week? Or do you think it needs to be sorted more urgently?

Please help, I'm so stressed!!

Anyone? Please!!

Where was the original leak from., bath, toilet, sink? Out bath would.leak when emptied so no constant dripping just water escaping which we didn't know about.

Do you have a shower cubicle over the kitchen - as they are quite often the culprit with the tiling, the grout gets a tiny hairline crack and water can seep into the plasterboard and then dampen everything from behind.

Obviously without knowing the full extent of the situation its difficult but if it were me, I would want someone to look at it asap.

I have the same issue currently. Slight leak from the shower tray somewhere and it leaked through. Discovered last Wednesday, plumber is coming today. We haven't used that shower since and have had no further leaks.

As long as it is not dripping constantly you should be ok to leave it for a few days, try not to use the shower until someone has checked it.

Sounds like a slow leak from shower or bath, prob through dodgy tiling or seals.

Call a plumber. It's very very unlikely your floorboards are rotting from a slow leak. You can get a dehumidifier to help dry out if worried. Houses are tough!

Honestly this is fine, this sort of thing is common. Get a plumber booked and only use shower or bath as little as you can.

Call a plumber to find where the leak is coming from and get that fixed.

Once that's done the area needs to dry out, it can take a good few weeks but a dehumidifier will speed up the process.

Get a builder in to quote up to make good and repair damage.

Thank you everyone... really helpful and reassuring replies. I will contact our plumber!

If the ceiling is marked rather than damaged you get really good damp seal paint which stops the water marks coming back through.

You just need to let it all dry out first. Could be something as simple as sorting the bath sealant.

Have a good look at what you can get to first. If there's a bathroom above remove bath panel etc so you know where to direct a tradesman. Water can track a fair way so it's not always directly above

A quick way to see if it’s really a new or old leak, is to draw a pencil line around it and see if it grows. - many a time when I’m
stressed, my eyes have played a trick on me.

Draw a line round the leak stain with a permanent marker, leave it for a week and see if the stain has spread. It might also be a blocked gutter or damaged pointing in your brickwork. Water travels in the weirdest directions and shit like this always feels shittier when you're on your own.