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.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163Water in the house? Call now, and we'll find you a local specialist.
Maybe a pipe let go, maybe the storm found a way in. Either way, you don't have to sort this out alone. Call us from Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, and we'll put you in touch with a restoration specialist from our network, with truck-mounted extraction and dehumidifiers for the drying that follows.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163Someone picks up, day or night.
Homes around Indian Rocks Beach are newer than in 66% of the 28,807 places we track, which changes what tends to go wrong more than whether it does.
88% of the 30,291 places we track come out drier. It's enough that a clogged gutter or a poor slope by the wall will show itself sooner or later.
A look at the roof, gutters and downspouts before July is the cheapest repair you'll ever make.
Hurricanes and tropical storms lead the list here. Wind opens up the roof, and then the rain comes in behind it. Not counted here: 4 more for things like fires 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.
Mold can get started within 24 to 48 hours, so it's worth calling even if the worst seems over.
Typical build year
Your home is too new for rusted steel pipe, but it may be just the right age for polybutylene, the gray plastic line used in many houses until the mid 1990s. It doesn't give much warning before it lets go.
The other usual suspects in a house this age are the second or third water heater, the supply lines under the toilets and the ice maker line behind the fridge. All of them are cheap to replace and expensive to ignore.
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.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
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.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163The humid Southeast
Rain comes hard here, and it doesn't leave quickly. Afternoon storms overwhelm gutters, tropical weather can soak a whole county at once, and creeks in hill country rise in a hurry. The real problem comes afterward, when the warm, damp air slows drying and gives mold a head start.
If your home has a crawlspace, it's worth a look. That's where a slow leak can sit for months, and a soft or musty floor is often the first sign. Pier-and-beam houses have the same issue. On slab homes, a slab leak may only show as damp flooring. And an air handler in the attic can leak right through the ceiling.
The ground doesn't get much chance to dry out. Sandy ground fills from below in a wet season, and clay holds water against your foundation after every storm. In the hills, runoff gets moving fast. A downspout that drains away from the house makes a real difference.
You can't dry a house here by opening the windows. That just brings in more moisture. LGR dehumidifiers do the real work, running until your floor joists, studs and drywall have given up their water, and ideally before the warm air gives mold its chance.
When you call
It starts with a few quick questions: your address, what happened and how long it's been wet. Then we'll connect you with someone from our network who works in Pinellas County. Your own home, a rental or a business, you'll know what's next before the call ends.
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.
Expect the drying to take longer than the cleanup. After a truck-mounted or portable unit has pulled out the standing water, air movers and LGR (low grain refrigerant) dehumidifiers run around the clock. Desiccant units get swapped in for cold rooms and dense materials. The specialist takes psychrometric readings each day, tracking temperature and humidity to see how fast the air is taking up water.
A wall can feel dry and still hold plenty of water. That's why the specialist measures a dry standard from unaffected wood and drywall nearby and keeps the equipment running until the wet areas match. This is the method in the IICRC S500 standard, and those moisture logs back up your insurance claim.
Don't write everything off just because it's wet. Clean-water carpet can usually be dried where it sits, with new pad underneath. Hardwood floors respond well to floor drying mats if you get to them early, though you may see some cupping for a while. And drywall usually needs a flood cut near the floor, not a whole new wall.
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.
Our network covers Indian Rocks Beach and the towns around it in Pinellas County. That includes homes, rentals and businesses, day or night.
We aim to have a specialist on the way the same day, often within hours. When a big storm hits all of Pinellas County at once, it can take longer, so it pays to call early. The steps above will help while you wait.
Small and clean, yes. Large or dirty, no. A shop vac and fans can deal with a little water on a hard surface, but they won't reach what's soaked into drywall and subfloor. That hidden moisture is where mold and rot get started.
It depends on how much got wet and for how long. A fresh leak in one room could be dry in a couple of days, while a soaked floor and walls may need a week. You'll see daily readings, so you'll know how it's going.
It depends on time and on the water. For hardwood, floor drying panels and patience can do a lot, though refinishing may still be needed. For carpet, clean water usually means new pad and the same carpet. Contaminated water means replacing both.
Many water losses are covered, so it's worth checking. The usual line is sudden versus gradual: a burst supply line is generally covered, and a slow drip often isn't. Flood damage needs a separate flood policy, and a sewer backup may need an extra rider.
It's quick. Give us your address, and we'll connect you with a local specialist who can tell you when they'll be there.