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 Horseheads North, New York, 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 Horseheads North are older than in 56% of the 28,807 places we track. That usually means more joints, more repairs and more places for water to get out.
Around 73% of the 30,291 places we track get more than this. Dry places aren't off the hook. Hard ground sheds water fast, so one big storm can run straight to your door.
A look at the roof, gutters and downspouts before August is the cheapest repair you'll ever make.
Nothing clearly tops this list. It's a good reason to know where your main valve is before you need it. That leaves out 4 for causes such as fire or the pandemic.
Before anyone arrives
No need to get it perfect. These are the things that make the biggest difference, in order.
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
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
You get a bit of everything here: long freezes that burst pipes, ice dams that send water through ceilings, and big coastal storms. Rivers can rise fast when heavy rain falls on melting snow, or when a tropical system stalls overhead.
This is some of the oldest housing in the country. Stone and brick foundations let groundwater seep through, plaster walls and hardwood floors need slow drying, and radiators and steam systems add old pipework that can fail with little warning.
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.
In a cold house, water hangs around. It barely leaves chilled drywall, stone or hardwood on its own, so winter jobs often bring in controlled heat along with the dehumidifiers to get things moving again.
When you call
Don't worry about having the right words. Just tell us what you're seeing. We'll get your address and a rough idea of the damage, then put you through to a specialist in our network who works around Horseheads North. They handle homes and commercial property, and they'll give you a time.
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.
So how do you know it's done? It's done when the numbers say so. A dry baseline from untouched materials in your house is the target, and each wet area has to reach it before the equipment leaves. It follows the IICRC S500 standard, and you get a record of the readings for your insurance claim.
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.
Contaminated water is where the rules get strict. Sewage or floodwater means the carpet and pad come out, along with wet insulation, and what's left gets an antimicrobial treatment. It's also not safe to relight a gas appliance that's been underwater until someone's checked it, and a soft floor needs a look before anyone stands on it.
We take calls from all over Horseheads North and the rest of Chemung County, for houses, apartments and commercial buildings. If you're not sure you're close enough, just ask.
Usually the same day, and often within a few hours. It depends on who's closest and how busy Chemung County is. If a storm has just gone through, everyone's calling at once, so call as soon as you can.
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.
A small leak that's caught early may dry in two or three days. A flooded room with wet subfloor and insulation can take a week or more, and repairs start after that.
Quite often. Floor mats and steady air can save hardwood that would otherwise be torn out, so tell the specialist about it first thing. With carpet, it all depends on the water: clean means dry it and replace the pad, sewage or floodwater means it comes out.
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.
Day or night, someone picks up. We'll connect you with a specialist who works in Chemung County.