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 Damage Restoration in Wilkes-Barre, PA
Whatever got wet in your Wilkes-Barre 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 Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and can get dehumidifiers and extraction equipment to you soon.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163Someone picks up, day or night.
Wilkes-Barre's water file
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Public records, linked in each box.- Source: ACS 2023 5-year, table B25035
- 1943Half the homes around Wilkes-Barre were built before this year
That's older than 91% of the 28,807 US places we track. Older homes often have pipes and drains that have been patched more than once.
- Source: NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals, station USW00014777
- 38.7 inRain and melted snow, in inches, in a typical year
Wilkes-Barre gets less than 58% of the 30,291 places on our list. Dry places aren't off the hook. Hard ground sheds water fast, so one big storm can run straight to your door.
- Source: NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals, station USW00014777
- SEPOn average, the most rain and snow falls in September
A look at the roof, gutters and downspouts before September is the cheapest repair you'll ever make.
- Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, 2016-01-01 to 2026-10-31
- 1Weather or water disasters out of 3 federal declarations for Luzerne County since 2016
- Hurricane1
Tropical weather tops this list. The damage often shows up days later, as a stain on a ceiling. That leaves out 2 for causes such as fire or the pandemic.
Before anyone arrives
Water in your Wilkes-Barre home? Start here
These are the steps that help most before anyone gets there. Do what you safely can.
Shut off the water
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.
Stay clear of the power
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.
Take pictures first
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.
Rescue what you can
Move rugs, papers, photos and electronics to a dry room, and prop furniture up off the wet floor. Everything else can wait.
Let the air move
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.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
Mold can get started within 24 to 48 hours, so it's worth calling even if the worst seems over.
Typical build year
What to check in a typical Wilkes-Barre home
Most homes here are old enough to have been through a few rounds of plumbing work, and what's in your walls may be a mix. Galvanized steel pipe rusts from the inside, so low pressure or brown water is often the first hint. Cast iron drains crack along the bottom, where you can't see them.
Start in the basement or crawlspace if you have one, and look for rust stains, damp joints and pipes that have obviously been patched. If your sewer line has never been checked, a camera inspection costs far less than a backup.
Call Now: (888) 596-0163
From first call to final repair in Wilkes-Barre
Water Damage Cleanup & Extraction
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
Flood Damage Restoration
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
Basement Water Damage Restoration
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
Structural Drying and Dehumidification
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
Water Damage Repair and Restoration
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
Why water behaves differently in Wilkes-Barre
Weather
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.
Buildings
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.
Ground
Dig down a little around here and you'll often hit rock. Water can't go through it, so it moves along it, and if your foundation's in the way, it comes in. A damp cellar after a rainy week is very often groundwater, not a leak.
Drying
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
From phone call to dry house in Wilkes-Barre
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 Wilkes-Barre. They handle homes and commercial property, and they'll give you a time.
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.
Getting the water out is the quick part. A truck-mounted or portable extractor handles that. After that, air movers sweep across wet surfaces, and low grain refrigerant (LGR) dehumidifiers take that moisture out of the room. In cold or dense spaces, desiccant dehumidifiers work better. You'll hear the machines day and night for a while, and daily psychrometric readings of the air show that they're working.
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.
What you can save and what has to go in Wilkes-Barre
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.
The exception is dirty water. Whatever soft material sewage or floodwater touched has to be removed, and the rest gets an antimicrobial cleaning. Don't relight a gas heater or water heater that sat in water, and if a floor feels soft, stay off it and mention it on the call.
Water damage help across Wilkes-Barre
Calls come to us from homeowners, landlords and business owners across Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County. Give us your address, and we'll find out who's closest.
ZIP codes in Wilkes-Barre
- 18702
- 18701
- 18705
- 18703
- 18710
- 18711
- 18762
- 18765
- 18766
- 18767
Your Wilkes-Barre water damage questions answered
How fast can someone get to me in Wilkes-Barre?
Usually the same day, and often within a few hours. It depends on who's closest and how busy Luzerne County is. If a storm has just gone through, everyone's calling at once, so call as soon as you can.
Can I clean up water damage myself?
You can handle a minor spill if it's clean water and it hasn't gone anywhere. For anything that's reached the carpet pad, the walls or the floor below, professional drying really does make a difference, and floodwater or sewage should be left to people with the right protective gear.
How long does it take to dry out a house?
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.
Can wet hardwood floors and carpet be saved?
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.
Will my insurance pay for water damage?
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.
Get help in Wilkes-Barre now
(888) 596-0163Day or night, someone picks up. We'll connect you with a specialist who works in Luzerne County.