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.
Whatever got wet in your River Edge home, the next few hours matter more than the next few days. Call us and we'll find a restoration specialist from our network who works in Bergen County, New Jersey, and can get dehumidifiers and extraction equipment to you soon.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163Someone picks up, day or night.
Homes around River Edge are older than in 82% of the 28,807 places we track. That usually means more joints, more repairs and more places for water to get out.
River Edge gets more than 69% of the 30,291 places on our list. That's plenty of water to find a tired roof, a blocked downspout or a low spot by the foundation.
A look at the roof, gutters and downspouts before August and September is the cheapest repair you'll ever make.
Tropical systems come first here. After one passes, check the attic as well as the rooms below it. Not counted here: 2 more for things like fires or the pandemic.
Before anyone arrives
Go through these in order and skip anything that doesn't feel safe. None of it is worth getting hurt over.
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
By now, most homes from this era have had some plumbing replaced, and the leftover sections are usually the risk. Look for gray galvanized pipe next to newer copper or plastic, because those joints can corrode. If you've had a few sewer backups, the old line itself may be the cause.
It's also worth replacing rubber washing machine hoses with braided steel. It's a ten-minute job, and those hoses cause a surprising number of flooded laundry rooms.
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 Northeast
Winter's hard on houses here. A pipe in an outside wall can freeze overnight, and a roof with an ice dam leaks even though it's perfectly sound. Nor'easters hit the coast with wind and flooding, and in late summer the leftovers of a tropical storm can flood towns far from the ocean.
A lot of the homes here have been through a century of repairs. Radiator lines, old steam pipes and patched-in plumbing can all let go without warning. Plaster and old-growth hardwood are worth saving, but they need gentle, slow drying, so they don't crack or warp.
The ground fills up quickly, and bedrock sends water sideways. Old stone foundations have plenty of gaps for it to find. If your basement only gets wet in spring, or after long rain, the ground is the likely cause, and a sump pump is worth a look.
Cold materials hold on to water. So in winter, specialists add controlled heat to the room, warming walls and floors enough to give up their moisture while the dehumidifiers take it out of the air.
When you call
First we'll want to know three things: where you are in River Edge, where the water came from and if it's stopped. From there, we'll connect you with a local specialist from our network, so you're speaking to someone who works in Bergen County. That goes for homeowners, landlords and businesses alike.
Expect a walk through the house with a thermal camera and a moisture meter, because what you can see is usually only part of it. The specialist will also tell you which of the three categories you've got. Category 1 water is clean, Category 2 is dirty, and Category 3 is sewage or floodwater. That last one changes the job, with plastic containment around the work area and negative air machines pushing air through HEPA filters.
Drying is a process, and you'll have strange machines in the house for a few days. The bulk of the water goes first, by truck-mounted or portable extractor. Air movers then lift moisture off surfaces, and low grain refrigerant (LGR) dehumidifiers remove it from the air. A cold building or dense material may need desiccant units instead. Daily psychrometric readings show if the air is still pulling water out.
Nobody should take the machines away just because a wall feels dry. The target is the dry standard, measured from sound materials in your own home, and the job follows the IICRC S500 standard until the readings match. Ask for a copy of the daily log. Your insurer will want it.
A lot of it can stay if you move quickly. If the water was clean, the carpet is often fine once the pad is replaced. Hardwood needs slow, careful drying with mats, and it may want refinishing at the end. Drywall is the easy one: a flood cut takes off the wet part, a little above the waterline, and the top of the wall is untouched.
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.
From one end of River Edge to the other, and on through Bergen County, the first step is the same call. Homes and businesses are both covered.
In most cases you'll have someone on the way that day. You can ask for a time when you're connected with the specialist. It may take longer after a storm, when much of River Edge needs help at once.
If it's small, clean and caught quickly, go ahead. If it has been sitting, has gone under the floor or smells bad, that's the time to call. The trouble with doing it yourself is that everything can look dry on top and still be wet underneath.
Plan on several days. Three to five is typical, though a small, fresh leak may be quicker and a large flood may take over a week. The readings decide when it's done, not the calendar.
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.
That's between you and your insurance company, but most policies cover sudden water damage from inside the home. Flood is separate, and sewer backup is often an add-on. Your best help is good records: photos from the start, plus the daily drying readings.
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.