Any roofers or contractors here? Ceiling leaking brown liquid.

[LouisEly]

Right now as I type this my ceiling is leaking a brown liquid, and has been for the last two hours. It's coming around but not through one of the air ducts. If you look at the upper left part of the air duct you can see a brown liquid drop forming. I live on the top floor of my building; the only thing above my ceiling is the roof.

 

Odd because it is not raining and has not rained since Wednesday morning. I think this has happened before but it was in January and it was in a different location (different air duct as well as through one of the recessed light openings, about 12 and 24 feet from where it is leaking now). I wasn't home at the time; I was in Hawaii and came home to two dried brown stains.

 

Has anyone seen anything like this and know what it might be? I'm pretty sure there are no water pipes above my ceiling as I'm on the top floor. Obviously water travels to the lowest spot, but it's leaking in a different spot than it did in January.

 

Any thoughts? Unfortunately we are a four-unit building and we self-manage, so when it comes to calling maintenance or a roofer it's our responsibility to find one.

[RobDeer 45]

In college we once had brown liquid dripping on the countertop in the kitchen. Turns out it was coming from a cabinet. The source.......a large bag of potatoes that had completely rotted and became partially liquified. Smell was horrible once we moved it. I'd check the ceiling for potatoes

[LouisEly]

I worked in the produce department of a grocery store back in high school. Quite familiar with rotten potatoes actually.

[Fear The Chorizo]

My guess is you have a condensation issue due to iffy insulation/air leaks around your ductwork and the condensate is getting discolored either by rust in the ducts or tannins in plywood/roofing underlayment. Particularly if you are on the top floor and the ac has been working overtime. Air moisture/humidity rises inside a building, so if you've got poor ventilation in the building attic/roof area you're likely to have condensed moisture trying to work it's way back down.

 

Fyi, I'm not a roofer and I haven't stayed in a holiday inn...but I've had interior humidity issues in a few places - definitely worth getting someone in the attic to have a look-see.

[Samurai Bucky]

Fyi, I'm not a roofer and I haven't stayed in a holiday inn...

Well done...

[RobDeer 45]

Fyi, I'm not a roofer and I haven't stayed in a holiday inn...

Well done...

 

Yes that made me laugh too! Ha.

[LouisEly]

My guess is you have a condensation issue due to iffy insulation/air leaks around your ductwork and the condensate is getting discolored either by rust in the ducts or tannins in plywood/roofing underlayment. Particularly if you are on the top floor and the ac has been working overtime. Air moisture/humidity rises inside a building, so if you've got poor ventilation in the building attic/roof area you're likely to have condensed moisture trying to work it's way back down.

 

Fyi, I'm not a roofer and I haven't stayed in a holiday inn...but I've had interior humidity issues in a few places - definitely worth getting someone in the attic to have a look-see.

Interesting assessment, and thanks for weighing in. It may be possible - the ACs have been running a lot - but no attic. It's a flat roof and there shouldn't be any ventilation in there - and the humidity wouldn't explain the similar leak that happened in January.

 

It also is not a constant drip. When it started it would drip every seven seconds or so. Now it's every 7-10 minutes or so. Leads me to believe that a bunch of water got in there and some of it has dried up.

[LouisEly]

OK, now it just started dripping every 10 seconds or so, but the drops are mostly clear. It's not raining.

 

I think the post about condensation may be accurate - hot, humid air is getting up there somehow. If it's condensation... what the heck do I do about it? I'd think that the hot humid air must be coming from outside (mid-90's outside), not inside.

[homer]

I'd start here:

 

https://asm-air.com/airconditioning/condensation-on-ductwork-sweating-ducts/

 

Maybe that will give you some ideas.