I caused my washer to leak over the weekend by not replacing the filter tight enough after removing it for cleaning. Lucky for me, I was home, noticed water building up in the washer pan, and was able to stop the leak and suck it up with a wet/dry vac. Unlucky for me, we still ended up with the pictured water damage in the kitchen ceiling below the washer.
I plan to pull out the washer and inspect the pan this weekend. I suspect is it cracked, or possibly — since it was installed by the seller as one of the items required by our home inspector — the drain may not actually be connected to anything?
But in the meantime, should I be worried about the resulting damage? It consists of the long stained line and the stained "splat", and several shorter stained lines outside the picture. I can't imagine that much water got in there, but I have no way to tell that without removing part of the ceiling. Should I be concerned about mold, or just apply a stain blocker, repaint and forget about it?
Best Answer
One thing in your favor is you're not in a hot humid area and you have a better chance of the water from one-time leak to dry up without mold growing. The long stained line you're talking about is a drywall seam that has been damaged due to the water. You should think about peeling the tape off and re-taping it as it won't cure itself. Any areas that have water stains should be wiped down with vinegar as a precaution as it's a great mildew/mold killer and it will soak into the material and kill mold below the surface. After the repairs are finished, prime, repaint and hope for the best outcome. Good luck.