Damp walls from flood/leak in flat above - what do I do?

Snakey

I know I posted something similar the other day but I have no idea where to start with this. I've rented for years and finally bought my own place six months ago. I was aware in general terms that flats were prone to the occasional water damage from other flats in the block (burst pipes and leaks and suchlike) but wasn't expecting it to happen quite so soon!

The leak happened the Saturday before last, and as far as I'm aware was stopped the same day, and now I have a damp smell in my living room (where I can see there is a damp patch on the ceiling in the corner, and the two walls right where they meet in the corner are damp all the way down to the skirting) and there's also a similar smell in my kitchen larder although I cannot see the source (I suspect it's the bit behind the boiler where the pipes are, in the corner next to the larder cupboard, which I cannot get to without ripping out the side of the cupboard).

This sounds so babyish and stupid, but... I don't know what to do! How do I make the smell go away? How can I dry the walls out? I've had the windows open non-stop, even all night, to try to get some air movement. Will it just dry out on its own, or do I need to hire some sort of specialist equipment? When it dries, will the smell go away? Or do I need to start hacking the plaster down and replacing it, ripping out the cupboards to get to the kitchen corner etc etc?

I don't want to go over the top and spend £££s if I just need to be patient. But nor do I want to ignore it if that will mean it gets worse/stays like this forever, especially the smell. I have absolutely no experience of dealing with water damage. What's the right answer? What usually happens? What do "normal people" - grown ups! - do?

I feel lousy about it because I saved up for fifteen years to buy this flat and now it smells like the horrible bedsit I had to live in when I was eighteen.

I have no contents insurance, which is not an issue as it hasn't damaged any of my stuff. There is buildings insurance, with a £100 excess.

Thanks for reading, and sorry this is such a lame question. But I worry that if I phone a specialist damp/water damage sort of place they're going to see that I know nothing and sell me £££s of "essential" work which the insurance company probably won't then pay for.

Doozergirl

As long as the leak has stopped, the exposed wall will dry out by itself. It does take some time. You could get a dehumidifier to help it along.

If you feel you need to rip out the kitchen larder then perhaps and insurance claim would be best. The smell could be rotting kitchen carcass or carpet?

adamslinger

I agree with Doozergirl on this one, if the leak has stopped then the wall should dry out on its own. If the damp patch or smell is particularly bad then you could use a dehumidifier to extract the moisture.