Practical advice from the dispatch deskYour First Hour After a Leak or Flood
The steps you take before the crew pulls up can save a floor, a wall, or an entire room. None of it takes the place of professional drying, but it does buy you time.
Stop the water first. Locate the main shutoff and turn it clockwise as far as it will go. In older homes near downtown Edwards it is often in the basement on the front wall where the line comes in from the street. In newer subdivisions it is usually in the garage, a utility closet, or near the water heater. If you live in a condo or apartment, the shutoff for your unit may be under a sink or behind an access panel, and building maintenance can shut the riser if needed.
Make the area safe. If water has reached outlets, power strips or the panel, do not wade through it to flip the breaker. Call the utility or wait for the crew. Keep an eye on the ceiling. Bulging or sagging drywall is holding water and can drop without warning, so keep everyone, pets included, out from beneath it.
Photograph it all before anything moves. Take wide photos of each room, then close-ups of the source, the waterline on walls, and damaged belongings. A short video walking through the house with the date on screen is even better. Your adjuster will thank you.
Get some air moving, carefully. If the electricity is safe and the water is clean, open interior doors and point a few household fans across the wet areas. Do not open windows on a hot, humid day, since you will pull more moisture into the house than you remove. In winter, keep the heat on so pipes do not freeze again and materials keep giving up water.
Lift what you can. Carry rugs, electronics, documents and anything sentimental into a dry room. Put foil squares or plastic lids under furniture legs so finish and rust do not bleed into wet carpet. Leave heavy pieces and anything built in for the crew.
What to avoid: Do not run a household vacuum on wet floors, do not turn the HVAC on high hoping it will dry things out, and do not start tearing out drywall before it has been photographed and measured. If the water came from a toilet, a floor drain or outdoors, treat it as contaminated and keep your bare hands out of it.
Then call. The sooner a crew starts extraction, the more of your home stays in place instead of ending up at the curb. If any of it feels unclear, the dispatcher can talk you through it while the contractor is driving over.