90-minute on-site guaranteeFree inspectionsFree leak detection24/7 emergency responseFull insurance claim management90-minute on-site guaranteeFree inspectionsFree leak detection24/7 emergency responseFull insurance claim management
You have one thumb free and water on the floor. This page is built for exactly that moment, the checklist first, the reasoning after.
Main valve: basement/crawl space street-side wall, by the water heater, or the outside stop-and-waste. Clockwise until it stops.
Water near outlets, cords, or the panel? Flip the breaker for that zone, or stay out and say so when you call.
Especially if the water is gray, brown, or smells foul, that’s a contamination sign. Close the door.
Source, standing water, waterline on walls, soaked belongings. Wide shots and close-ups, before anything moves.
A real person answers, triages by phone, and dispatches. Have your address and what-happened ready.
Furniture on foil or blocks, keepsakes and electronics up and out. Don’t lift with your back what the crew can move in an hour.
Stopping the source outranks everything, every minute of flow adds square footage. Electrical safety comes before heroics; a wet basement with live outlets is not a retrieval mission. Documentation beats cleanup because your insurance claim is built from what the loss looked like before anyone helped. And the call goes out early because drying equipment arriving an hour sooner routinely saves flooring that would otherwise be demolition.
Don’t run fans on suspicious water, if it might be sewage, moving air spreads contamination.
Don’t use a household vacuum on water, ever. Shop-vacs only for small clean spills.
Don’t rip out carpet before photos and a professional look, you may be discarding both salvageable material and claim evidence.
Don’t assume it’s over when the surface looks dry. Pad, subfloor, and wall cavities hold water for weeks, that’s what meters are for.
Mitigation first (that’s the damage-stopping duty your policy expects), insurer second, ideally within the same hour. The full playbook, including exactly what to say to the adjuster, is in how to file a claim.
Water moving right now? Skip the reading, call
No pressure, no truck rolled, just an honest read on your situation.
Five-minute callback, honest advice, zero obligation. That’s the whole pitch.
Keep your phone nearby. If water is still spreading, shut off the main valve now, it’s usually in the basement or crawl space, on the street-facing wall.