The first 72 hours
The first 48 hours decide how much gets torn out.
A burst line or an open roof does almost nothing in the first hour. What ruins a house is everything that happens after, while somebody decides who to call.
- Hour 0The water arrives
Carpet, pad and baseboard are already saturated. Nothing is lost yet.
- Minute 10We call you back
You tell us the ZIP code and what happened. We tell you how long until a crew reaches you, and we say so honestly if it is too long to be useful.
- Hour 1It goes under the floor
Water moves sideways along the subfloor and wicks up into drywall. The wet patch you can see stops matching the wet area that exists.
- Hour 24Mold can start
Warm, wet and dark is the condition it wants. In Houston humidity this window is shorter.
- Hour 48Drywall is gone
Saturated board loses structure and stops being something that can be dried. Now it is demolition instead of drying.
- Day 5The structure reads dry
Equipment comes out when the meter says so, not when the calendar does. You get the readings for every day it was here.
Times are typical for a residential job and vary with the volume of water, the construction and the humidity. The meter decides, not the schedule.
How it goes
From the call to the dry structure
Most of the damage from water is not the water itself. It is the forty-eight hours it spends soaking into drywall, subfloor and framing while someone decides what to do.
Standing water out first, with truck-mounted or portable extraction depending on the volume and the access.
Air movers and dehumidifiers placed by the size of the affected area, not by what fits in the van.
Moisture logged every day in every room until the structure reads dry. You get the readings, so you know when it is really dry.
The category changes what can be dried and saved and what has to come out. We tell you which one you have before anything is removed.
Hardwood and subfloor often survive if drying starts early. Soaked carpet pad and wet insulation almost never do.
A floor can feel dry on top and hold water underneath. The meter is what says when drying stops, not the calendar.
Growth can begin between 24 and 48 hours. Drying fast is what keeps it from getting there.
Common questions
What people ask about water damage
How fast can you get here?
We call you back in under 10 minutes, day or night, and tell you straight away how long until a crew reaches you. If we cannot get there fast enough to be useful, we say so.
How long does drying take?
Most residential jobs run three to five days. The equipment stays until the meter says the structure is dry, not until a fixed number of days has passed.
Does my insurance cover this?
Only your policy and your insurer can answer that. What we do is photograph and measure every stage and hand you the file. You decide what to do with it. We do not file, negotiate or adjust claims.
Do I have to leave the house?
Usually not. The equipment is loud and the house gets warm, but most families stay. If the water is contaminated we will tell you to move out of the affected rooms.
The clock started when the water did.
Every hour it sits, it moves further into the walls and the floor. Call now, or send the details and we call you.
(888) 844-7862 Report the damage