Walls and Ceilings - ? re wall backing tile

Hello,

I have a stall shower which is backed by a closet. After noticing some mold on the interior wall of the closet which is shared with the showerhead wall of the shower, I removed the sheetrock wall in the closet today and found the shower head is leaking between the closet wall and the wall backing the tiled shower.

There was mold on the wall backing the tile. I had some concern about the mold and so thought it might be a good idea to strip away the paper backing from the wall backing the tile. The inner layer of this wall backing is a soft (and now wet) brown material that resembles topsoil but also contains long thin fibers. My first thought was asbestos. And now I'm a little worried. (I live in a condominium in New Jersey which was built in 1985.)

Does anyone have any knowledge of what this tile backing material may be and what it may be comprised of?

I appreciate any feedback and thank you in advance.

It's drywall. Well it's wet drywall. Try to get a fan on it to dry it out completely.

This is why you should never use sheetrock as a tile backer in a shower, CBU should be installed under the tile always in a shower! I'm sure the majority of the damage is from the shower head leaking, but I'd also bet that moisture getting thru the grout lines has also contributed to the mess you're now confronted with. Dry it out then get ready to redo your bathroom. :)

Thank you for your replies. The plumber came by to take a look yesterday and thought that the backing was drywall as well. The wall is pretty much destroyed as it appears that the leak from the showerhead connection has been there for a number of years (the crossbeam through which the H/C pipes run is half eaten away by the moistute/mold) and the grouting under the faucet does have some cracking. You're right, there is a big job ahead! Thank you again.

Good luck with the shower reno. Are you going to replace the tile shower or take another option?