is my ceiling going to fall down?

[rm]

So, I get a call from my unexpected house guest that my bathroom ceiling is leaking.

I run home.

It's done leaking by the time I get there.

There's been maybe a pot-full of water involved in total.

I turn on the light in the bathroom. Everything's red. What.

Oh. The glass lamp shade has filled up with nasty water.

Now, can I go up there and unscrew the lampshade without electrocuting myself? If I just leave it be will the water evaporate (because I don't relish climbing on a stool and probably dumping nasty water on my head).

Finally, am I correct to assume that whatever happened was probably the result of the kids upstairs (*shakes fist at Scooby-Do van*) flooding their bathroom because they are idiots, or do I have to worry that there's a cracked pipe in the ceiling and this will happen everytime they turn on the shower? There's no bubbling paint or anything and the whole thing looks to me like they flooded their bathroom and the water went into their floor and then came in to my apartment through the shoddily sealed light fixture.

While I realize everyone's first recommendation is going to be "call the super" that's problematic and best avoided unless this becomes are recurring issue. So what's your second piece of advice?

And please, for the love of God, tell me it will be okay.

Also, I should note that it apparently happened twice about 10 minutes apart, which to me reads like flood and flood cleanup. But that may be wishful thinking.

Comments

[fleur.livejournal.com]

Yes, you need to get the water out of the fixture!! No, you should not electrocute yourself if the fixture is turned off at the time but if you need more reassurance, flip the breaker before you start.

If the point of entrance isn't obvious due to a hole or dirty peeling paint spot on the ceiling, through the fixture is a decent guess. I'd ask the upstairs neighbors if their sink overflowed or something.

[rm.livejournal.com]

They don't speak English.

[fleur.livejournal.com]

Okay, scratch that last part ... but yes, you should be okay cleaning up.

[legionseagle.livejournal.com]

The collective linguistic skills of lj are wide and varied.

If we knew what they speak, between us we could probably manage a placard which said in the appropriate language:

'I AM YOUR NEIGHBOUR FROM THE BELOW APARTMENT

REGRETTABLY THERE SEEMS TO BE A FLOOD-DOWN PROBLEM FROM YOUR APARTMENT INTO MINE (if they speak German "eine flood-down-problem" is bound to be already a noun; other languages have to take their chances)

COULD IT PERHAPS BE YOUR WATER SYSTEM? I WOULD BE OBLIGED IF YOU COULD CHECK SINCE IT IS BECOMING URGENT. THANK YOU.

one tiny suggestion

[valancy17.livejournal.com]

let's not forget to add

I DON'T SPEAK YOUR LANGUAGE, PLEASE ANSWER IN ENGLISH.