Why standing water can’t wait
Water on the floor doesn’t stay on the floor. It wicks up drywall, soaks through carpet into the pad, and runs under laminate, baseboards and cabinet bases. The longer it sits, the more material gets wet, and the more has to be dried or torn out later.
The EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. Getting the standing water out is the first step. Drying, cleaning and repairs wait until it’s gone.
Extraction doesn’t fix the source. A plumber repairs the broken pipe, fixture or water heater. A restoration provider removes the water, dries the structure and handles damaged materials and mold. Many emergencies need both.
Safety before anything else
- Electricity. If water has reached outlets, cords, appliances or the electrical panel, stay out of it. The CDC advises turning off the main power only if you can do it from a dry location. If you’d have to walk through standing water to reach the panel, call an electrician.
- Gas-powered equipment. The CDC warns never to run a generator, pressure washer or any gasoline-powered engine inside the house or garage, or less than 20 feet from a window, door or vent.
- Sagging ceilings. A ceiling holding water can come down. Keep people and pets out from under it.
- Contaminated water. Water from a toilet, floor drain or sewer line can carry harmful germs. Keep children and pets away and don’t wade through it. See sewage backup cleanup.
Stop the water
Close the valve at the fixture or appliance if there is one, such as the supply valve under a sink or behind a toilet. If you can’t find the source or can’t stop it there, close the main shut-off valve for the house.
In Phoenix, the city says that valve is usually at the front of the home near a hose bib, where a pipe comes out of the ground and goes into the house. Some older homes have it at the back. Turn it by hand: the Smart Home Water Guide warns that old or corroded valves can break. Don’t turn the valve inside the city’s meter box. If your valve won’t move, call your city’s water department. Our shut-off valve guide explains where to look.
If a pipe broke, the plumbing repair comes next. Burst pipe water damage explains how the repair and the cleanup fit together.
Clean, gray or black water
The source of the water changes the cleanup. The IICRC’s S500, the industry standard for water damage restoration, sorts water into three categories. People often call them clean, gray and black water.
- Clean water (Category 1) comes from a source that isn’t contaminated, like a broken supply line or a sink that overflowed with tap water.
- Gray water (Category 2) carries some contamination, like the discharge from a dishwasher or washing machine.
- Black water (Category 3) is what the IICRC calls “grossly contaminated.” Its examples include sewage, backups from drain lines beyond the trap no matter how the water looks, and rising water from rivers or streams.
The category can change. The IICRC notes that it depends on the source and on what the water picked up from the materials it touched, and that time and temperature affect it.
The category drives the work. With clean water, the provider can usually go straight to extraction and drying. With gray or black water, the IICRC standard calls for cleaning and contamination controls before drying starts, and more material usually gets thrown out instead of dried. The EPA also says not to use fans until you know the water is clean.
What water extraction involves
Most jobs follow the same steps.
Finding the edges. The provider checks where the water came from and uses moisture meters, and often a thermal camera, to see how far it spread. Water travels under flooring and into walls, so the wet area is usually bigger than the puddle.
Pumping out deep water. Where water stands more than a thin layer deep, submersible pumps move most of it.
Pulling water from carpet and pad. Truck-mounted or portable extraction units draw water out through wands and other tools pressed into the carpet. The more water comes out now, the shorter the drying.
Deciding on carpet and pad. Soaked pad is usually pulled and thrown out. Carpet soaked with clean water can sometimes be dried in place. The EPA says carpet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours and that the subfloor underneath has to be cleaned and dried too. After gray or black water, more of it usually goes.
Hard floors and cabinets. Water under laminate, engineered wood or vinyl plank is hard to reach from above, so some flooring has to come up for the subfloor or slab to dry. Cabinet bases get checked too.
Setting up for drying. Once the standing water is out, air movers and dehumidifiers go in. That stage is covered on the structural drying page.
What to do before help arrives
- Take photos and video of the water, where it came from and everything it touched, before anyone starts cleaning up.
- Call your insurance company to report the damage and ask what’s covered. You can do this before you sign anything with a contractor.
- Move what you can out of the wet area: rugs, electronics, papers, photos and small furniture. Slide foil or plastic under furniture legs you can’t move.
- Open cabinet and closet doors near the water so air can reach inside.
- Hold on to damaged items until your insurer says you can throw them away, and keep receipts for anything you buy.
- Use a wet vac only on clean water, and only away from outlets and cords.
The first-hour guide walks through these steps in more detail.
Questions to ask the provider
- What category of water do you think this is, and why?
- Which materials do you plan to remove, and which do you expect to dry in place?
- Will you share photos and moisture readings I can give my insurer?
- Do you handle drying and rebuilding, or only the water removal?
- What is your Arizona contractor license number? You can look it up with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.