1. Stay away from electricity
If water is touching outlets, cords, a space heater or the electrical panel, stay out of it. If you can reach the panel from a dry spot, switch off the breakers for the wet rooms. If the panel itself is wet, leave it alone and tell the crew when you call.
Look up, too. A ceiling that sags or bulges is holding water and can come down.
2. Stop the water
- Pipe, water heater or appliance: close the main shutoff. In most Puyallup homes it is in the crawl space, the garage, or near the water heater. Many also have a valve at the meter box near the street.
- Toilet or sink: close the small valve behind or under the fixture.
- Sewage coming up a drain: stop using water anywhere in the house.
- Rain or groundwater: you cannot turn off the weather, but you can clear a clogged gutter you can reach from the ground, check that a sump pump has power, and get things up off the floor.
3. Call for help
Call a water damage company now, before you try to clean up. Getting a crew on the way while you work through the rest of this list saves time. Call us and we will connect you with a local company.
4. Take photos and video
Before you move anything, photograph every wet room from a few angles, then take close-ups of damaged floors, walls, furniture and the source of the leak. Film the water if it is still running. Your insurance company will ask for this.
5. Move what you can
Get rugs, electronics, paperwork, photos and anything with sentimental value up off the floor and into a dry room. Put foil or wood blocks under furniture legs so they do not soak up water or stain the carpet.
6. Leave the rest to the crew
Do not pull up carpet, tear out drywall or run a shop vac on sewage. Crews use moisture meters to see what is wet and what can be saved, and they will document it all for your claim.
A note on crawl spaces
If the water went under the house, do not crawl in while it is still standing or while wiring down there might be wet. Look from the hatch with a flashlight and tell the crew what you see.
Related services in Puyallup
- Emergency water removal: Pumping and extracting standing water, then pulling wet carpet pad and setting drying gear.
- Burst and frozen pipes: Cleanup and drying after a pipe splits in a wall, ceiling, garage or crawl space.
- Sewage backup cleanup: Safe removal and sanitizing after sewage comes up through a floor drain, toilet or tub.