Water Dripping From the Ceiling: The First Ten Minutes Matter
A ceiling stain that has started dripping is already carrying more water than you can see. What you do in the first ten minutes decides whether this is a repair or a renovation.
Shut the water off
Go to the main and close it. If the drip slows or stops over the next few minutes, it is a supply line. If it keeps going at the same rate, it may be a drain line, a roof leak or an air handler condensate line.
Control where the water lands
A bulging ceiling is holding a pocket. Put a bucket underneath and pierce a small hole at the lowest point of the bulge with a screwdriver. It feels wrong, and it is the right move: a controlled drain in one place beats a section of ceiling coming down.
Kill the power to that area
Ceiling light fixtures and recessed cans sit exactly where the water travels. Switch that circuit off at the panel before anyone stands under it with a bucket.
Supply leak, drain leak or air handler?
Constant drip with the water off usually means it is not a supply line. Drips that only appear when someone showers or the washer runs point to a drain or a shower pan. A steady drip near an air handler during humid weather is often a blocked condensate line, which is not a plumbing failure at all.
What comes next
The leak gets located, the smallest possible opening is made, the failed section is replaced and pressure tested. Then the drying happens. Skipping the drying step is how a fixed leak becomes a mould problem three months later.
Water moving right now? Shut the main off first, then call (888) 809-6756. Dispatch is live open 24 hours, 7 days a week across every Florida city.