Watsonville Water Damage Restoration: Dry the House Before Mold Starts

Shut off the water and avoid outlets before drying starts

Drying cannot begin while water is still arriving. Before anything else, close the main shutoff or the valve for the fixture that is leaking. If the water came from a sewage backup, stop using every drain in the house.

Then deal with safety. Do not walk through standing water near outlets, a panel or a ceiling light fixture that has water behind it. If water has reached the electrical panel or is coming through a light fixture, stay out, and call 911 or your electric utility. A restoration crew cannot start work in a room that is still energized and wet.

Clean water, gray water or sewage: the category changes the job

The kind of water decides what happens to the materials it touched. Water from a clean supply line can usually be dried in place. Water from a washing machine, a dishwasher or a tub drain carries soap and soil and needs more care. Water from a toilet, a sewer or a drain backup carries bacteria, and anything porous that it soaked has to come out.

Tell the person on the phone where the water came from and how long it has been there. Time matters, because clean water that sits for days turns into something worse. Ask the crew to tell you what category they assess it as and why.

• Clean water from a supply line, a water heater or a faucet: porous materials can often be dried.
• Gray water from an appliance or a drain: more of the wet material is likely to be removed.
• Sewage or floodwater: carpet, padding, drywall and insulation that got wet are removed, not dried.

What drying actually involves

Good restoration is measured, not guessed. The crew pulls standing water out first, then takes moisture readings of the floor, the walls and the structure behind them. Air movers and dehumidifiers then run until the readings return to normal for the material.

Ask for the readings. A crew that takes numbers on the first visit and again on each return can show you the materials are drying. A crew that sets equipment and leaves without readings cannot tell you when the job is finished.

Ask how many days of equipment you should expect and what you need to do while it runs: keep doors and windows closed, leave the machines on and call if one stops. Moisture that stays in a wall cavity is how a single leak becomes a mold problem.

Sewage backup cleanup

A sewage backup is a health problem as much as a wet one. Keep children and pets out, and wear gloves and boots if you must cross the area. Do not run the vacuum you use for other rooms through it.

The cleanup has two parts: the plumbing cause and the affected materials. In Watsonville the private sewer lateral is the owner's responsibility, and the City handles its own main, so the first call about the cause depends on where the stoppage is. The page on sewer line backups explains who to call.

Expect wet porous materials to be removed rather than dried, and expect the area to be cleaned and disinfected before drying equipment is set up.

Storms, floods and water that did not start in a pipe

If the water came from outside, say so when you call. Rain, runoff or a flooded yard bring soil and debris with them, and the drying plan is not the same as for a broken supply line.

In that situation the cause is not a plumbing fault, so there is nothing to repair on the plumbing side. The work is extraction, removal of materials that got contaminated and drying. Keep photos and dates, and call your insurer early.

An insurer may want to see the moisture readings and photos, so ask for copies as the job goes.

After the drying: who fixes the leak and who rebuilds

Restoration here means water removal and drying. It does not include the plumbing repair that stopped the water, or the carpentry, drywall and paint that rebuild the room afterward.

For the repair side, a hidden leak starts with leak detection, and for a ruptured pipe, see repairing a burst line. For rebuilding, you will need a general contractor, and you should keep the moisture readings to show the walls were dry before they were closed.