The First 24 Hours After Water Damage: What to Do, In Order

Water damage is one of the few household emergencies where the clock is the enemy more than the water itself. A hundred gallons removed in hour one costs a fraction of what the same hundred gallons costs after it has spent a day soaking into subfloor and drywall.

Minute 0 to 15: stop the water

Find your main shutoff and close it. In most Pearland homes it is at the meter box near the street or on the exterior wall by a hose bib. If the water is coming from a single fixture, the local angle stop under the sink or behind the toilet is faster.

If water is anywhere near outlets, panels or a fuse box, cut power to that area at the breaker before you walk in.

Minute 15 to 45: document everything

Before anyone moves furniture or pulls carpet, take wide shots of each room, close-ups of the damage, and a photo of the failed component itself. Adjusters approve what they can see. This is the cheapest insurance step you will ever take.

Hour 1: call for extraction

This is the call that changes the outcome. Professional extraction removes water mechanically instead of waiting for it to evaporate, which is the difference between drying materials and replacing them.

Hour 1 to 4: protect what you can

• Lift furniture legs onto foil or wood blocks so finishes do not bleed into carpet
• Move rugs, electronics, books and paper off wet flooring
• Pull small valuables out of the affected rooms entirely
• Do not run a household vacuum on standing water

Hour 4 to 24: start the claim and start drying

Open the claim while the crew sets equipment. Give your carrier the photos, the cause, and the mitigation company's information. Insurers expect you to mitigate immediately — waiting for approval before drying can actually hurt the claim.

What not to do

• Do not throw anything away before it is photographed and logged
• Do not turn off drying equipment because it is loud
• Do not paint over stains before the cavity is verified dry
• Do not assume a dry surface means a dry wall

If you are in the middle of this right now, stop reading and make the call. Everything above still applies once the crew is on the way.