soaked drywall ceiling in closet

[Harriett Wright]

The air handler tray in my attic overflowed, and by the time I realized what was happening it had soaked the ceiling in a closet below it. (I had been hearing an ominous dripping for several days without being able to discover the source.) The A/C technician came yesterday and fixed the drain and removed the water in the attic with a shopvac. This morning I noticed that it was still dripping, so I poked a hole and drained out quite a bit of water that had collected.

Will it eventually dry out and be OK, or will I need to have the ceiling replaced? As soon as it stopped dripping I put a floor fan in the closet and directed it upward.

I need advice from someone more knowledgable about drywall than myself.

Thank you, Harriett

[hrhofmann]

depends somewhat on where you live. If far enough north and low humidity, you might be able to dry things out fast enough to not have mold growing. On the other hand, if it is hot and humid like along the Gulf Coast, you may have mold problems. Spraying everything in sight with a mixture of 1/2 bleach, 1/2 water might stop mold from starting.

[jamesgangnc]

Gte some fans on it asap. From the top and bottom if possible.

[Baron]

Since the drywall is in a closet, I assume it is not typically seen by others. That means you have a good opportunity to learn how to either install new drywall or patch what is there. Since you were able to remove a fair amount of water by poking a hole in the drywall, at least some of the drywall will never quite regain its hardness even after all the water evaporates. Cut that part out and patch it. If you do not do pretty job, you should be okay as long as it functional and you will have learned from the experience.

Good Luck.