Ceiling Moisture Problem

What Causes Moisture to Accumulate on A Bathroom Ceiling?

In most cases, it's either going to be from a roof leaking onto the bathroom ceiling, something leaking from the floor above or the most popular of the three choices, poor bathroom ventilation.

The damage you're looking at in the picture above was actually caused by the roofer who forgot to the lap the roofing paper over the ridge. Could you imagine that, all of the damage to this particular bathroom ceiling was the direct result of someone who didn't know what they were doing.

Welcome to the world of construction and home inspections.

Let's get back to the moisture problems and poor ventilation.

When someone takes a hot steamy shower or bath and in some cases lets the hot water run in a sink while shaving or washing their face, moisture can accumulate on the walls and ceilings as the vapors from the hot water start to cool down. This is by far the most common cause of mold, mildew and fungus in bathrooms.

Most building departments require either a window in the bathroom for ventilation or a fan to help circulate fresh air. In some cases you're going to have neither and if this is the case, a fan or window might need to be installed.

There is one more thing you can do and that would be to leave the bathroom door open while showering or using hot water. The minute the door is closed and moisture is trapped, without a window or fan, the moisture in these rooms can get pretty intense and I've seen ceilings form hundreds of droplets over the shower.

Moisture can ruin drywall and plaster, leading to major home repair bills.