Emergency Water Damage Restoration
This is the call for water that's coming in right now. We get a local specialist on the way to stop the source, pull the water out and start drying the same day.
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Water where it shouldn't be gets stressful fast, and it keeps spreading while you work out what to do. If it's a burst pipe, a soaked ceiling or storm water at the door in Mountain View, California, call us. We'll get a specialist from our network of local restoration companies moving toward you, with extraction equipment and dehumidifiers.
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That's newer than 51% of the 28,807 US places we track. Newer doesn't mean leak-proof, though. It only changes what's likely to fail.
Around 93% of the 30,291 places we track get more than this. Less rain doesn't mean less risk indoors. Most damage here starts with plumbing, and when a big storm does come, dry ground doesn't soak it up.
Check your drains and the slope around the house ahead of February. It takes an afternoon, and it can save a lot of drying later.
Severe storms lead the list here. They can open up a roof in minutes, and you may not see the leak for days. We've left out 7 for other causes, such as fire or the pandemic.
Before anyone arrives
You don't have to do all of this. Do what's safe, in this order, and leave the rest.
Look for the main valve near the meter or where the line comes into the house, and turn it slowly, since older valves can stick. If it's one fixture, its own shutoff valve will do.
If you can reach the breaker panel without stepping in water, switch off the wet rooms. If you can't, leave it alone, stay out of the water and tell us when you call.
Before you clean up, photograph the water, where it came from and whatever it damaged. Your insurance company will ask, and you only get one chance at those shots.
Move rugs, papers, photos and electronics to a dry room, and prop furniture up off the wet floor. Everything else can wait.
If the water is clean and the power's safe, open interior doors and run the fans you have. Stay out if it's sewage or floodwater, and keep that air away from the rest of the house.
The clock on mold is roughly 24 to 48 hours, which is why we'd rather hear from you early.
Typical build year
A lot of plumbing from these years has reached the end of its life. Galvanized steel narrows from the inside as it rusts, so weak water pressure can be a warning, not just an annoyance. Cast iron drains can crack, and fittings where old meets new are often the first thing to go.
Have a look under the kitchen and bathroom sinks and around the water heater. Any rust, drips or green staining is worth having a plumber check before it turns into a call to us.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
This is the call for water that's coming in right now. We get a local specialist on the way to stop the source, pull the water out and start drying the same day.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
The more water that comes out at this stage, the less has to be dried later. Pumps and extraction units clear carpet, pad, hardwood and tile, then everything the water touched gets cleaned.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
Floodwater is never clean. It carries soil and sewage, so mud and silt get cleared, soaked drywall and insulation get cut out, and what stays gets disinfected.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
If your home has a basement, a failed sump pump or a backed-up drain can fill it fast. It gets pumped out, the concrete and block get dried, and someone finds out how the water got in.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
Air movers and dehumidifiers run until the meters say your walls, subfloor and framing are back to normal. Not until they look dry. Until the readings prove it.
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Once the structure is dry, the drywall, flooring, trim and paint go back. You'll have photos and notes for your claim along the way.
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Rain here tends to come all at once. Atmospheric rivers can drop weeks of normal rain in a few days, overwhelming storm drains after a long dry season. Above hillside neighborhoods, burn scars can turn that rain into mud and debris flows. And it's a very different story from the foggy coast to the hot inland valleys.
Slab foundations and raised floors with crawlspaces are both common, often in the same neighborhood. Stucco over wood framing can hide water for a long time. Older copper and galvanized lines develop pinhole leaks, and earthquakes can shift pipe connections that then fail years later.
What's under your house depends on where you are. Clay shifts with the seasons and stresses pipes, sandy ground near the coast can have water close to the surface, and hillsides hold water until they suddenly don't. Good drainage away from the house helps in all three.
There's no single setup that works for all of California. On each job, psychrometric readings show how much water the air is holding, measured in grains per pound, and that decides how the equipment gets set up that day.
When you call
The call itself is short. Tell us your address in Mountain View, what got wet and if it's still coming in. We'll connect you with a restoration specialist from our network who covers Santa Clara County, and they'll tell you what they can do and when. It doesn't matter if it's a house, a rental or a business.
When the specialist arrives, the first job is finding where the water went, because that's rarely where it's pooled. Thermal cameras and moisture meters show how far it has traveled behind walls. They'll also work out what kind of water it is. Category 1 is clean water from a supply line, Category 2 is dirty, like a washer overflow, and Category 3 is sewage or floodwater. Category 3 means sealing the area with plastic, called containment, and running negative air machines with HEPA filters to keep the dirty air away from the rest of your home.
Most of the job is drying, and it's slower than people expect. Extraction units, often truck-mounted, take out the bulk water. Air movers and low grain refrigerant (LGR) dehumidifiers then do the long, loud work of pulling moisture out of walls and floors. Desiccant units come in when it's too cold or the materials are too dense for LGR machines. Psychrometric readings, which are daily checks of temperature and humidity, tell the specialist if the setup needs changing.
Looking dry and being dry are two different things. The specialist takes moisture readings from unaffected parts of your home to set a dry standard, and the machines keep going until everything wet matches it. That's how the IICRC S500 guidance says to do it, and the daily log gives your insurer the proof it asks for.
More than you'd think, if it's caught early. Carpet soaked with clean water can often be dried in place once the pad's been pulled. Hardwood is worth trying to save too, with floor drying mats and slow drying, though it may need refinishing. Drywall that's wet only at the base can be cut a little above the waterline instead of being replaced to the ceiling, which is what a flood cut is.
Things change when the water's dirty. Anything soft that sewage or floodwater reached, such as carpet, pad and insulation, gets thrown out. Hard surfaces get cleaned and treated. Have a professional look at any gas appliance that got wet before you turn it back on, and don't walk on a floor that's gone spongy.
We take calls from all over Mountain View and the rest of Santa Clara County, for houses, apartments and commercial buildings. If you're not sure you're close enough, just ask.
Often within hours. Our network covers Santa Clara County, and we'll look for whoever can reach you soonest. Storms are the exception, because every crew in the area gets busy, so please don't wait to see if it gets worse.
A small spill of clean water on a hard floor? Sure. Towels and a fan will do it. But if the water's in the walls, the carpet pad or the subfloor, or it came from a sewer or a flood, you'll want it extracted and properly dried. What you can't see is what keeps causing damage.
Most homes take three to five days of drying once the water's out. Dense materials such as hardwood and plaster can take longer, and any rebuilding comes afterward.
Hardwood is more forgiving than people think. Floor drying mats pull moisture up through the boards, and refinishing can take care of what's left. Carpet can usually stay if the water was clean, as long as the pad's replaced. If the water was dirty, it can't.
Often, but not always. Insurers tend to pay for sudden leaks and not for long-term seepage. Flooding from outside needs its own policy. Call your insurance company early, and keep the moisture logs and photos, since they make the claim much easier.
Day or night, someone picks up. We'll connect you with a specialist who works in Santa Clara County.