Water dripping from a smoke detector or ceiling light?

Do these in order.

1. 1Keep people and pets out from under it. A wet ceiling can sag or drop.
2. 2Don't touch the fixture, the light switch, or the smoke detector. Ready.gov's flood guidance is short: "Do not touch electrical equipment if it is wet or if you are standing in water. Turn off the electricity to prevent electric shock if it is safe to do so."
3. 3Turn off the breaker for that room or area, but only if you can reach the panel without stepping in water. If the panel is wet or you have to cross a wet floor, don't. Call your electric utility or the fire department instead.
4. 4Shut off the water at the main valve. In most cases the source is a pressurized line. Stopping the supply stops the flow. Not sure where the valve is? See how to find your main water shutoff.
5. 5Catch what you can. Put a bucket under a drip and move furniture and electronics out of the way.

Once the water is off and the power is off, take photos for your insurance claim before you clean up.

What not to do:

• Don't flip the switch to test whether the light still works.
• Don't climb a ladder to unscrew a fixture or pull a detector that's dripping while the circuit is live.
• Don't reset a tripped breaker again and again. A breaker that trips is telling you there's a fault.
• Don't seal the fixture with caulk or tape to stop the drip. That traps water above the ceiling.
• Don't assume it's over when the drip stops. Water can stay trapped above the drywall.

Turning off the breaker can also kill a hardwired smoke alarm. Many have a battery backup, but don't count on it. NFPA says to "test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button," so check the ones in other rooms, and make sure every sleeping area still has a working alarm while the power is off in this one. If a hardwired alarm has been soaked, don't assume it's fine. The CPSC's guidance for water-damaged homes is to have a professional evaluate the electrical and replace what has been under water, and a wet alarm is a reason to have it replaced, not just dried out.

Treat any water at a ceiling fixture as a live leak until an electrician or plumber says otherwise.

Water travels along framing, so the drip often shows up some distance from the actual leak. The usual suspects, by what's above the spot:

• A bathroom or laundry room above. Look for a supply line, a shower valve, a tub overflow or a drain leak. See what causes a water leak from the ceiling.
• A water heater or air handler in the attic. A failed tank or a clogged condensate line will do this. The air conditioner condensate drain rules explain the drain side.
• Attic moisture. A bathroom fan or dryer vent that discharges into the attic can leave moisture that condenses and runs down, and it's slow, so it's easy to miss. That's still a source to fix, but it's rarely a supply line.
• The roof. After a monsoon storm, a roof leak can follow the same path. Water that shows up only during or right after rain points to the roof, not the plumbing.
• A pipe in the wall or ceiling. A pinhole in a copper line can leak for weeks before it shows. See pinhole leaks in copper pipes.

A quick test: if it still drips an hour after you shut off the main, it's probably not a supply line. Look at the roof and the air conditioner drain. A drip that slows and stops after the main is closed was fed by a pressurized line; whatever water is left in the ceiling will drain out over the next hours.

Call an electrician. The CPSC says to "have a professional or your gas or electric company evaluate your home and replace all gas control valves, electrical wiring, circuit breakers, and fuses that have been under water." That line is written for floods, and the same caution applies when water has run through a ceiling fixture. Wiring that gets wet can corrode, and a fixture that works today can fail later. Don't turn the light back on until it's been checked.

Call a plumber to find and fix the source. HQ Plumbing & Air handles the water side: finding the leak, stopping it and repairing the line, including leak detection when the source is hidden. We're licensed and insured, we give free estimates and the price is up front, and we answer emergency calls 24/7. We're a plumbing company, so a soaked fixture, wiring or a roof leak goes to the right trade, and we'll tell you when that's the case.

Once the water and the power are handled, the job shifts to limiting damage. You have a short window. The EPA says "if wet or damp materials or areas are dried 24-48 hours after a leak or spill happens, in most cases mold will not grow." That's the clock to work against.

• Watch the ceiling. A ceiling that's bulging or sagging holds a lot of water and can let go without warning. Keep everyone out from under it. Don't poke it or stand under it while the fixture is still connected to power.
• Move things out. Furniture, rugs and electronics under the leak should go to a dry room.
• Get air moving. Once the power is confirmed off in the area and the water is stopped, run fans, open windows and run a dehumidifier. Don't plug fans or a wet-dry vacuum into an outlet that's near the wet area or that shares the tripped circuit; run an extension cord from another room instead.
• Photograph everything. Take photos and short videos of the ceiling, the fixture, the source once you find it, and any damaged belongings before you clean. Insurers ask for them. See how to file a water damage insurance claim.
• Save the damaged parts. Keep the smoke alarm and any fixture that was replaced until the claim is settled.

If you're unsure how urgent your situation is, when to call an emergency plumber lists the signs. While you wait for help, what to do while waiting for a plumber covers the basics.

### Hiring for the electrical side

The wiring and the fixture belong to an electrician. In Arizona, the Registrar of Contractors says a license is needed if "the entire cost of the project, including labor and materials is over $1,000 or requires a permit by the local municipality." Ask any electrician for their ROC license number and check it. Once the fixture is dry and tested, put a working smoke alarm back in place. NFPA says to "test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button," and a new alarm should be tested the day it goes up.