I know the source of the leak and it was a big f**k up on my part and it’s fixed. But right now I have an undetermined amount of dishwasher drain water that drained into my sheetrocked basement ceiling!!! If it was the dishwasher drain it couldn’t be TOO much right? I took out the light and am reaching inside trying to dry as much water as I can. Some was leaking out around the window sill so I pried the fram off to let the water drip out.
What do I do? Should I drill a hole to drain some? It’s just a drip so I don’t know that there is much in there.
We just bought this house a month ago and I’ve messed it up here. Please tell me I didn’t ruin my house. I feel like I’m going to be sick…
Poke a hole in the ceiling at the point closest to the origin of the leak. Get the water out of the ceiling assembly as quickly as possible to preclude mold growth. You don’t say if the framing is solid sawn or lightweight wood truss-one can be dried out quickly and efficiently with a couple of holes and a high volume fan, the other cannot.
As far as quantity, I don’t have a spec for that, but two ore three gallons of soapy water in a ceiling isn’t a good thing.
Anyway-get the excess water out, first. Then dry out the ceiling interior ASAP, and then patch the drywall. It feels like something terrible, but it’s not. This too shall, pass. 
If necessary (or for peace of mind), you can cut out a generous section of the sheetrock and replace it. It’s a messy job, though. If you feel that you’ve gotten most all of the water out of the space, then you could stick a heat gun or a hairdryer up there to finish up the drying process.
Yes, poke a hold at the worst spot and put a bucket underneath right away. If you are lucky, after it’s all drained and dry, all you will need to do is spackle over the hole.
I was able to remove the cannister light and dry it out from that hole. I think I got it all. It was caught pretty fast as the dishwasher didn’t get to complete the drain cycle. I haven’t seen any soakage through the sheetrock thank god so I’m hoping that it will just go away.
Do I need to spray bleach or anything up inside the sheetrock to prevent mold/mildew? Even though the sheetrock is probably not going to need to be replaced I would hate for it to mold over.
Putting a fairly strong (say 25%) bleach solution into a mister bottle and spraying it around the inside of the cavity isn’t gonna hurt anything and its probably a good idea.
Do NOT use a heat gun… those things can start fires (used to use em to light ciggies back when I smoked… called it my 6500 watt lighter)
A “contractor” would pull off all affected areas and then square off the hole, replacing the sheet rock, and then plastering/ sanding it smooth… pre prime the plastered aread, let dry and then prime the whole area (let dry) and then paint the entire ceiling for a near invisible repair. A good contractor would also use the misted bleach or a commercial anti mould/fungal spray and let the whole area dry completely before doing the repairs .
If you do it, wear eye protection… plaster, sand and mouldy wet sheet rock do not get along with eyes…
best of luck
FML