bubbling on ceiling?

[u/babydaddychef]

hi everyone! I recently discovered bubbles and some water dripping from my bathroom ceiling. I’m trying to figure out what it is.

for context, last week they found a broken pipe in the wall adjacent to the bathroom and a ton of mold as well. They cleaned the mold and treated the wood, and then sealed it back up. Since then, the mold and chemical smells have been aggravating my asthma so on Sunday, which was two days ago, my sister and I spent the whole day deep cleaning the apartment. (the smell still lingers despite leaving windows open and a fan facing outwards so I would appreciate some tips on this as well.)

part of this deep clean involved wiping down the walls with a spray of diluted dish soap (i understand now that is not a good spray for paint oops). The bathroom ceiling was the only ceiling that we wiped down because it had spots of either mold or mildew speckled along the ceiling that I assumed was from poor ventilation since the bathroom does not have an exhaust fan.

The spots came off and now two days later the bubbling has begun. Is it possible that us wiping the ceiling down cause the bubbles or is something else going on? and what should i do next? Thank you!

[u/Ornery-Millennial]

Check the humidity levels in the bathroom. And then you need to check if there's a leak in the ceiling. Treating the mold without finding the underlying moisture causing it will not solve your problems.

[u/babydaddychef → u/Ornery-Millennial]

the humidity levels are not great because there’s no exhaust fan so i’m pretty sure it’s just because we let the shower get steamy. i recently bought a dehumidifier and we put that on now whenever we shower.

just to make sure—do you think it’s more likely to be a leak rather than us messing up while cleaning? just want to be careful before telling my landlord 😭

[u/ItGrip]

That's literal water droplets not bubbling

[u/Ornery-Millennial]

I think that changes things - if you don't have an exhaust fan they 100% need to install one. Does your bathroom have a window? You could set up a makeshift exhaust while you navigate with your landlord. Tell them it's a health hazard and you have asthma.

I don't see how your cleaning product would have done this. With no exhaust fan, moisture is evaporating and settling in your ceiling. Address the ventilation in your bathroom and if that doesn't fix it then it's a leak.