About 9 months ago, my wife and I replaced a toilet that had a broken wax ring. We got some water leaking down to the ceiling on the first floor. Now I'm having what seem to be mold symptoms -- I get runny eyes, have trouble breathing, and feel nauseous when I go into the bathroom. (I'm pretty sensitive to mold; my wife feels nothing).
I think that we probably have mold growing from the original leak, so I've opened a small hold in the celing underneath. What I see through the grate are some planks. They look like they were soaked through at one point but aren't wet right now. I'll try to get a picture and post it later. I don't see any mold at this point.
Anyone have any tips on how to procede? It's just a small hole right now, should I widen it? Should I cut through the mesh to get a better look? I'm going to hire someone to put the ceiling back on (time constraint). I assume it'll be a lot more expensive if they have to deal the mesh as well?
Any easy ways to tell if there's still some kind of leak going on? Any advise greatly appreciated! I do have a professional coming out, but he can't get here until next Wednesday and I'd like to resolve as much as I can quickly.
Here's an update:
I think I'm seeing some black wood in there (need a better flashlight!).
Assuming I am, I guess my questions change to:
- Is it o.k. to kill the mold by blasting ozone through a hole in the ceiling? I know this is generally not the recommended way to clean up mold; but I would do it by blasting for a limited time with no one in the house. I don't think there's anything between the floors I would need to worry about damaging?
- I need to figure out if there's still a leak or some kind of humidity problem. Is it safe to assume that because the problem got worse there is? Should I try to find the pipes and see if they're leaking?
- I would still like to hire someone to fix the plaster ceiling. Is it going to cost a huge amount extra if I cut through the mesh and they have to replace some of it? Does area make a massive difference in price for that kind of job? For what it's worth, I'm fine having drywall put up instead of plaster.