1. Keep clear of electricity
If water is touching outlets, cords, a space heater or the electrical panel, stay out of it. If you can reach the panel from a dry spot, switch off the breakers for the wet rooms. If the panel is wet or the floor around it is flooded, leave it alone and tell the crew when you call.
Look up, too. A ceiling that sags or bulges is holding water and can come down without warning.
2. Stop the water
- Plumbing leak: close the main shutoff. In most Issaquah homes it is where the water line enters, often in the garage, utility room or crawl space. Open a faucet on the lowest floor to drain the lines.
- Water heater: close the cold supply valve on top and turn off the gas or the breaker.
- Toilet or appliance: close the small valve behind it.
- Sewage: stop using water anywhere in the house.
- Creek or storm water: you can't stop it, so focus on safety and getting belongings up high.
3. Call for help
Call before you start cleaning. A crew can bring pumps and extractors, and the sooner drying starts, the less has to be torn out. Call now and have your address and a rough idea of what happened ready.
4. Take photos and video
Before you move anything, photograph every wet room from the doorway, then get close-ups of damaged floors, walls, furniture and the source of the water. Your insurance adjuster will ask for them, and once cleanup starts you can't go back.
5. Protect what you can
- Move rugs, electronics, papers, photos and anything you can't replace to a dry floor.
- Put foil or plastic under furniture legs so stain and rust don't transfer to wet carpet.
- Hang up wet clothing and fabric so it can start to dry.
- Prop open closet and cabinet doors in the wet rooms.
6. Leave these for the crew
- Pulling up wall-to-wall carpet or cutting drywall.
- Running a household vacuum on water.
- Turning the heat way up to dry things. It can make mold grow faster.
- Cleaning sewage or flood water with household cleaners.
7. Call your insurance company
Report the claim early. Ask what your policy covers, whether you need to use a particular company, and whether they want to see damage before anything is removed. Keep receipts for anything you buy to protect the house.
Related services in Issaquah
- Emergency water removal: Standing water pumped out, wet carpet and drywall pulled, and drying equipment set the same day.
- Burst and frozen pipes: Cleanup after a pipe splits in a freeze, a fitting fails or a supply line lets go inside a wall or ceiling.
- Mold and structural drying: Dry walls, floors and framing after a leak, and remove mold that started where water sat too long.