Dripping H2O from Bathroom Ceiling Fan

viking63

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Aug 28, 2010
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Requesting input from the diverse wisdom of my fellow CF'rs. Walked into main bath today and had water dripping from exhaust fan. Not a lot but enough to cause concern. It has since stopped. I would say total leakage would be maybe below 1 cup. What the hell would cause this? There's no pipes up there. Have lived in current place for going on 8 years and have not had this issue before. Thinking about what has changed recently that may have caused this. Daughter moved in, so have another person using the bath. Recently replaced shower/tub faucet and sink faucet. WTF?

Here is pic. You can see water pooling in light cover and stains in the ceiling drywall.

1732917820692.png

Any ideas what would cause this? Who do you even call to investigate something like this? Thanks for any ideas/input.
 

besserheimerphat

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Apr 11, 2006
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Is there a bathroom above it?

Water travels, so even if there isn't a pipe directly overhead it can get there. We had the same happen when my kids would splash water outside their shower. Water found a path to the space between the floor/ceiling, then ran to the fan and dripped. It was a finite amount of water being splashed, so the dripping was intermittent.
 
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Clonehomer

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I’d get up in your attic to see where more water is. If this is the top floor, I’d be concerned about a leaking roof.

It may be that this is just a low area in your ceiling that water is allowed to come through. That doesn’t mean the leak is right there.

But I’d call ServPro to start if you don’t want to deal with it yourself. They’ll at least diagnose the entry point and clean it up. They may not fully fix it if it is plumbing or roof related.
 
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cyphoon

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Sep 8, 2011
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Do your bathroom vents exhaust to the outside? My guess is that your bathroom exhaust simply vents into the attic, and now water has collected in it and is dripping out. This has happened to us at two houses.

At some point, home builders decided to skimp and started venting into the attic instead of out the roof. Horrible practice that should be forbidden.

Another possibility is that your exhaust is kinked or clogged, or water is simply condensing in it before it escapes out the house. Look for pooled water in a low point of the exhaust.

H
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
This just reminded me of a conversation a couple weeks ago. A guy at a meeting told me that they had water problems coming from their attic. Turns out their A/C condenser was put in the attic. The drain hose plugged and had water coming through the ceiling. Had never heard of it ever being placed in the attic, always outside
 

baller21

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Mar 15, 2009
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Requesting input from the diverse wisdom of my fellow CF'rs. Walked into main bath today and had water dripping from exhaust fan. Not a lot but enough to cause concern. It has since stopped. I would say total leakage would be maybe below 1 cup. What the hell would cause this? There's no pipes up there. Have lived in current place for going on 8 years and have not had this issue before. Thinking about what has changed recently that may have caused this. Daughter moved in, so have another person using the bath. Recently replaced shower/tub faucet and sink faucet. WTF?

Here is pic. You can see water pooling in light cover and stains in the ceiling drywall.

View attachment 138775

Any ideas what would cause this? Who do you even call to investigate something like this? Thanks for any ideas/input.
Have you had any rain/snow in your area lately?
 

herbicide

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Unless its something real crazy it is what @cyphoon mentions. Basically its frozen condensation build-up from the fan itself melting.

Solution: go into attic and get rid of ice chunks, and stop using the fan...
 

viking63

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Aug 28, 2010
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WDM, Iowa
Is there a bathroom above it?

Water travels, so even if there isn't a pipe directly overhead it can get there. We had the same happen when my kids would splash water outside their shower. Water found a path to the space between the floor/ceiling, then ran to the fan and dripped. It was a finite amount of water being splashed, so the dripping was intermittent.
No bathroom above. Single story townhome. Built in 1986.
 
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Pope

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In the meantime, tell your family to stop taking steamy hot showers.
 
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BWRhasnoAC

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What's above the bathroom? If it's the attic I would guess there's a leak. If it's not the attic then it's either a pipe or could be condensation. Sometimes those vents don't have a blow back diverter and it could be cold air into the house that's causing water to condense.
 

Dopey

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Exhaust pipe is likely not insulated properly as it's routed through the attic.

Condensation collecting in the vent and spilling back into the light fixture.
 
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viking63

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WDM, Iowa
Thanks for all the replies. To answer some of the questions:

1 .Fan vents to exterior through the roof
2. Roof was replaced within the last year
3. No recent precipitation. Rain or snow. Reside in WDM
4. I am too large to fit through attic access in the garage

Removed fan cover and there is a lot of dust build up.

My guess, as some have said, is the exhaust duct is clogged or partially clogged. Think I will need to get someone out to inspect. Recommendations?
 

Land Grant

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Oct 30, 2006
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Clearly your utilities company uses hydroelectric power. Ask them to switch to wind generation, which will eliminate the leak and add power to the fan.
 
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ISUATC

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Feb 1, 2007
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Thanks for all the replies. To answer some of the questions:

1 .Fan vents to exterior through the roof
2. Roof was replaced within the last year
3. No recent precipitation. Rain or snow. Reside in WDM
4. I am too large to fit through attic access in the garage

Removed fan cover and there is a lot of dust build up.

My guess, as some have said, is the exhaust duct is clogged or partially clogged. Think I will need to get someone out to inspect. Recommendations?
Maybe Dryer Vent Wizard can help with this?
 
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