Homeowner guide
Water damage: what to do in the first hour
The steps that limit the damage and protect your insurance claim, in the order they matter.
Start here
Safety first
Before you deal with the water, make sure the area is safe to enter.
- Electricity and water. Do not walk into standing water if outlets, cords or appliances in the room may be under water. If you can reach the breaker panel without walking through water, turn off power to the affected area. If you cannot, wait for help.
- Ceilings. A ceiling that is sagging or bulging with water can come down. Stay out from under it.
- Sewage. Water from a toilet overflow or a sewer backup can carry bacteria. Keep children and pets away and do not handle it without protection.
The first hour
Six steps, in order
- Stop the water. Close the shutoff valve on the fixture or appliance if there is one. If not, shut off the main water supply to the house. Find out where your main shutoff is before you need it.
- Cut power to wet areas if you can do it safely.
- Move what you can. Lift furniture off wet flooring, move electronics, papers, photos and rugs to a dry room, and put foil or plastic under furniture legs that have to stay.
- Take photos and video before you clean up. Show where the water came from, how far it spread and what it touched. This is the record your insurance company will ask for.
- Remove standing water you can safely reach with towels or a wet vacuum made for water. Do not use a regular household vacuum.
- Call for help. Report the loss to your insurance company and call a water damage restoration company. The sooner drying starts, the less has to be torn out.
What not to do
Common mistakes that make it worse
- Waiting for it to dry on its own. The surface may feel dry in a day or two while drywall, insulation, subfloor and cabinet bases stay wet underneath.
- Throwing damaged items away before they are documented. Your adjuster may want to see them. Photograph everything first and ask before you discard anything of value.
- Painting or patching over a stain. If the source has not been found and the material is still wet, the problem comes back.
- Running fans that blow on wet sewage-contaminated materials. That can spread contamination to the rest of the house.
Why speed matters
Water keeps moving after you stop it
Water runs along the path of least resistance: under baseboards, into wall cavities, across subfloor and down into the ceiling below. Drywall and insulation act like a wick. The longer materials stay wet, the more of them have to be removed instead of dried in place, and the more likely it is that mold starts to grow.
That is why the first thing we do on site is measure. We check moisture inside walls, floors and cabinets, not only where the water was visible, so wet materials are not sealed back up.
Insurance
What to have ready for your claim
- Photos and video taken before cleanup
- The date and time the water started, or when you found it
- What caused it, if you know (a failed supply line, a burst pipe, a water heater)
- A list of damaged belongings
- Receipts for anything you spend to prevent more damage
Many policies treat a sudden event, like a burst pipe, differently from a slow leak that went on for months. We are contractors, not adjusters or attorneys, and we cannot tell you what your policy covers. Read it, and ask your adjuster. Our insurance claim assistance page explains the documentation we provide.
When you call us
What happens next
We respond 24/7. We stop the source if it is still running, remove standing water, measure where the moisture went and set up drying. We keep checking until materials are back to normal, and the same team handles the rebuild. See how that works on our water damage restoration page, or see recent projects.
Call (512) 838-4236, someone answers, day or night.