Help! Ever had a toilet blockage that leaked thru the downstairs ceiling?

[frannn]

Last night, I flushed our second floor toilet and walked away. A few hours later, DD15 alerted me that there was water leaking through the kitchen ceiling (directly under the toilet). DH found that the toilet had stopped up & overflowed. I was surprised, as all I had flushed was what I cleaned out of my cat's litterbox. DH got the toilet unclogged, but there are still wet spots on my kitchen ceiling, and the water is still dripping through. Now there are two dime to nickel sized holes dripping the water through. I called the plumber, figuring I should have it looked at even though the toilet is flushing properly now. Anybody ever have this, and is it possible to repair/replace a small portion of the ceiling or does the whole darn thing need to be done? DH thinks it's drywall, but he's not sure. Am I looking at $$$ in damages from a stinkin' clogged toilet? BTW, we'll probably have the toilet replaced, since it runs a lot.

 

[kehouse]

we had this happen to us, if it is just discolored you can paint over it with a stain block (like kilz). but we had the "popcorn" ceiling and when i painted over it the "popcorn" came off. if it is a small area you can get a can of it to spray on. ours was a large area and i had to buy a "gun" to hook up to my air compressor(about $50.00). it was VERY messy to do. and the stuff to put in it was about 12.00 a bottle. i used 2 for my bathroom. looks really good though. you can turn this in to your homeowners policy if it looks like more than you'll want to handle. good luck!

 

[Scurvy]

First time poster here - usually I lurk, but I might know something about this. My sister recently (couple of months ago) had her toilet overflow from flushing "flushable" kitty litter. After she got it unclogged everything was fine again - no more problems, although she doesn't flush litter anymore. They haven't done anything else to fix the toilet, and it has been fine since then.

As for the running, depending on what kind of toilet you have, you may be able to stop that just by replacing the flap thing that is in the tank - I just did that for one of mine that kept running and that seems to have fixed it.

Good luck!

-Beth

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

We had the same thing happen at our old house. I just used Kilz to repaint the ceiling after it dried. You shouldn't have to replace the toilet, it may need new inside parts to stop it from running.

 

[mkladypink]

when the same thing happened in our house a few months ago. I was screaming 'Oh my gawd, oh my gawd', and now every once in awhile it comes out of her mouth, too! Good thing she couldn't hear the words that were running through my head!

Still haven't fixed the ceiling. Is popcorn ceiling a textured finish...ours is a swirl type pattern. Also, what is Kilz?

The things you learn on DIS boards!

 

[crisi]

Neighbors had it happen. They had to rip up the floor in the bathroom and the ceiling downstairs. It was covered by insurance - but was a real mess.

 

[mrsboz]

We have had discoloration of the ceiling happen. We just cleaned and painted the spots. But, we have also had the washing machine (on the first level) flood over. Insurance covered the new floors and carpets. We were sleeping upstairs and water was pouring out everywhere. We didn't hear it. We had to have everything replaced. Luckily insurance covered it. If you should need anything replaced have insurance come and check it out before you do any work. Good luck.

 

[lcsmom]

We always buy homes that are fixer uppers, I've had experience with drywall and leaky pipes. Once upon a time, a small repair on our ceiling led to a whole kitchen redo, but that's another, long story. If you've got holes with water still leaking, there is probably still water between the joists. You may want to cut out a small, door knob size hole and check for water and get some air up there to dry it out. Home Depot sells little patch kits that are easy to use and cover a 4" x 6" square, then you put the Kilz over the patch and the spray on texture over that and then you paint the whole ceiling.If the the drywall is all soggy and just kind of squishes, depending on where you live, you may just want to leave it alone for a few days. Here in the South, because of mildew problems, its best to rip out any wet (not damp) drywall because it molds before it drys. And in Texas you don't report it to the insurance company because they'll double your rates, which are already the highest in the nation.
I will now step off my soapbox, put away my lecture notes, and contemplate the ugly wallpaper in the kitchen.

 

[Deb & Bill]

It happened to our first brand new house. Apparently, the workers were flushing trash down the toilet (upstairs in the master bathroom) before we moved in. So when we flushed it one morning, it kept running. My husband had already left for work and I was going to leave as soon as I got the dog in the house. I heard a crash and my kitchen ceiling light was lying on the kitchen floor with water running from the hole in the ceiling. Looked like it was raining in my brand new kitchen. I ran down to the construction trailer and they shut off the water. Since we had just moved in and it was their fault, they made all the repairs.

I wasn't happy.

If you use clumping litter in your cat's litter box, I wouldn't flush it. It can clog up the toilet.

 

[Gluman11]

First, you gotta stop flushing the kitty litter.........."flushable" or not.....sometimes those darned cats just make too big of a "mess" to flush....speaking from personal experience here.........I save those plastic bags from the grocery store and every nite, scoop the kitty litter out into a bag, tie it up and put it in the regular garbage...............

Another thing, you don't have to replace the toilet, just because it runs. actually, the toilet itself is not the problem.....its the mechanism inside the tank that needs to be replaced..........its like a $10 part at the home depot, and with a little guidance, can be replaced by the average joe in 1/2 hour (8 to 10 minutes if you have done it before).......

With regard to the ceiling....i agree with the previous poster that you need to get the water out of the ceiling, let it dry and then patch it and paint it....
Assuming it is drywall..............

If you'd like to PM me, I'll be glad to elaborate and/or get more details from you.............I've done lots and lots of home repair work......I'm no contractor, but I've got some pretty good experience in quite a few areas of home repair..........


John