1. Watch out for electricity
If water is near outlets, power strips, a baseboard heater or the electrical panel, stay out of it. If you can reach the panel from somewhere dry, turn off the breakers for the wet rooms. If the panel itself is wet, leave it alone and say so when you call.
Look up, too. A ceiling that bulges or sags is holding water and can come down. Keep people out from under it.
2. Stop the water
- Plumbing leak: close the main water shutoff. In Edmonds houses it is often in the crawl space near where the line comes in, on a garage wall, or in a box near the street.
- Appliance: close the valve behind the washer, dishwasher, toilet or water heater.
- Condo: close your unit's shutoff if the leak is yours. If it is coming from above, knock on the door upstairs and call your building manager or HOA.
- Sewage: stop using water anywhere in the house.
- Rain or groundwater: you cannot turn it off, but you can move belongings away from it and call for help removing it.
3. Call for help
Call before you start cleaning. A crew with pumps, extractors and moisture meters can find water you cannot see, and the sooner they start, the less has to be torn out. Call us and we will connect you with a local company.
4. Take photos and video
Shoot wide views of every wet room, then close-ups of the damage, the source and anything you plan to throw away. Do it before you move anything. Insurance adjusters ask for this first.
5. Move what you can
Get rugs, electronics, paperwork, photos and anything sentimental onto a dry floor. Put foil or plastic under furniture legs so stains do not soak into wet carpet.
6. Let air move, carefully
If the water is clean and there is no electrical risk, open windows on a dry day and run fans. Do not run a household vacuum on wet carpet. Do not use heaters to speed drying until a crew checks the area. In a cool, damp Edmonds winter, dehumidifiers do more than open windows.
7. Call your insurance company
Report the claim and ask what they need from you. Keep receipts for anything you buy, like fans or a hotel stay. If you are in a condo, tell your HOA too.
Related services in Edmonds
- Emergency water removal: Standing water pumped out, carpet and pad extracted, drying equipment set the same day.
- Burst and frozen pipes: Water from split supply lines, frozen hose bibs and failed fittings cleaned up and dried.
- Condo and unit-to-unit leaks: Leaks from the unit above or into the unit below, with drying and documentation for the HOA.