What happens on the first visit
The first visit is about getting water out and keeping it from spreading. A crew will usually:
- Find the source and make sure it is off. If it is a plumbing failure they can't stop, they will tell you to call a plumber or bring one in.
- Pump out standing water, then pull water out of carpet and pad with an extractor.
- Use moisture meters on walls, subfloor, cabinets and baseboards to map how far the water traveled.
- Remove soaked pad and cut out drywall that is too wet to dry in place.
- Set air movers and dehumidifiers and leave you with a plan for checking moisture over the next few days.
The damage you can't see happens fast. Drywall and particleboard pull water up from the floor within hours, so a crew that gets there early can often save walls and cabinets that would need replacing a day later.
While you wait for the crew
- Shut off the main water valve if the leak is coming from a supply line, a water heater or an appliance.
- Keep out of water that touches outlets, cords or baseboard heaters. If you can reach the breaker panel from a dry spot, turn off the wet rooms. If you can't, leave it.
- Pick up rugs, electronics, papers and photos and move them to a dry room.
- Take photos and short videos of every wet area before anything gets moved or thrown out.
- In a condo or apartment, tell your building manager or HOA right away, and knock on the doors above and below you.
Water removal calls around Lynnwood
Lynnwood grew fast in the 1960s and 70s, from about 7,000 people in 1960 to almost 17,000 by 1970. A lot of the split-levels and ramblers from those years still have their original supply lines, water heaters tucked into hall closets or garages, and daylight basements where the lower floor sits partly below grade. When one of those lines or tanks lets go, water tends to end up on the lowest floor, on carpet laid over concrete.
About half of the homes in the city are rentals, and the apartment and condo buildings around City Center, Alderwood and the Highway 99 corridor bring a different kind of call. A supply line or washer hose fails in one unit, and the water shows up in the ceiling of the unit below. In those cases the clock is running in two homes at once.
Crews take calls from the 98036, 98037 and 98087 ZIP codes, plus Martha Lake, Alderwood Manor, Mountlake Terrace, Brier and Mill Creek.