Edit: Ok no worries guys it was definitely just the tub leaking! It just took several hours for it to stop dripping afterwards which is why I was confused at whether or not it was the tub or something else. All is well! It’s a very infrequently used shower/tub so I hadn’t noticed anything prior.
I’m guessing it’s likely the tub drain itself that was leaking or it’s possible one of the outflow pipes leaked from there. Either way it’s not an urgent fix thankfully! I just posted this a bit hastily I suppose. I appreciate the comments!
Hello. So the other night I had a tub filled up with water for a prolonged period of time. I do not typically use the tub in that bathroom. The tub water was stagnant and thus the leak would not have been caused by inadequate caulking between the tub and wall.
Today I have awoken to find that my ceiling below the upstairs bathroom is wet and there is a dripping noise in the wall downstairs roughly under the tub.
I have drained the tub about 20 minutes ago, but there is still a slow, but continuous dripping noise in the wall below the bathroom. Since the dripping noise is still occurring at the same slow pace, does that mean it is unlikely to actually be dripping from the drain or pipework that drains from the tub?
My unit has a shared wall with the neighbor, so there is a chance that there is actually something leaking from their unit instead of mine.
Is there a way I can troubleshoot this a bit further without immediately ripping out the walls? Even if I can’t find the exact source, just narrowing it down to something with the neighbor versus my own bathroom would be helpful.
I can’t call a plumber right now because we literally just had a hurricane so they are going to be tied up for a bit.
Thanks all.
I had similar happen once. Look at the connection between the drain and the tub itself. For me, the plumbers putty that was in there was old and had gotten gross and cracked. It was fine when I showered, but when I put enough water in to fill the tub, it broke through with a leak. The water pooled up on a bit of subfloor, and dripped from there onto the drywall below. Even after the tub was empty, there was still some dripping till I dried everything out.
What I had to do was just remove the drain, and reapply new putty. It’s possible you have putty, or a gasket, or caulk in there that has failed. It’s probably a pretty easy fix for you to replace it.
That’s what I’m thinking and hoping it likely is! I can’t totally rule out the possibility that it’s also leaking through the hairline chips, but they don’t seem deep enough to cause that. More than likely it’s just the tub drain itself like you said!