Ask Me Help Desk - Housesitting -- What to do about downstairs ceiling leak until someone gets home?

I'm housesitting for my parents and they're difficult to get in touch with due to being in another country. Their downstairs ceiling is leaking from one of two adjacent bathrooms upstairs.

I've stopped using the upstairs bathrooms entirely and have a bowl / towels under the leak. Is there anything else I can do until they get home (about 9 days from now! )? Does this situation need immediate attention or can it wait until they return (if I don't use the bathrooms)?

Thank you for your help!

P.S. The crack started as about 7-8 inches long and after an hour and a half, is now a foot long. It went from a slow drip-drip-drip to pretty steadily pouring a small stream of water. Ugh. There are several "streams" of water flowing toward the crack.

Quote:

Is there anything else I can do until they get home (about 9 days from now! )? Does this situation need immediate attention or can it wait until they return (if I don't use the bathrooms)?

If you have a drainage leak then wait till the folks get home. However if the leak hasn't stopped overnight then you have a pressure leak that will only get worse. To check to see if you have a pressure leak first shut down everything in the house, no flush, no drinks of water, and if you are on a meter go out and check the little pointer in the gage. It should not move or creep. If it does you have a leak. If you're on a pump then check the pressure gage after the pump builds up to pressure and shuts off. The gage should not fall and the pump come back on. If so then you have a leak.
If you find that you have a pressure leak then shut the water off at the house shut off and call in a plumber to locate and repair the leak. Good luck and thank you for rating my answer. Tom

Thank you so much, Speedball. I am really clueless about this sort of thing and appreciate your help. I think it's a drainage leak since the adjacent bathroom has had a drainage leak before (they tore out the ceiling and repaired it) and this happened after I took a full bath. I'm hunting around for the meter now to make sure, though.

Thank you again.