What is emergency water removal?
Emergency water removal is the first stage of water damage restoration: pumping and extracting standing and absorbed water before it spreads further into the building. It is the fastest way to cut drying time, because removing liquid water mechanically takes minutes while evaporating the same water takes days.
What to do before we arrive
Your first 30 minutes matter. These steps are safe for most clean-water leaks:
- Shut off the water. Close the fixture valve or the main shutoff, usually near the front of the house or where the line enters the garage.
- Cut power to wet areas if you can reach the breaker panel without standing in water.
- Move valuables up and out. Photos, electronics, rugs and paper go to a dry room.
- Put foil or plastic under furniture legs so stains don't transfer to wet carpet.
- Take photos of the water and the source before anything is moved. Your insurer will want them.
Stay out of any room where the ceiling sags, and keep away from water that came from a toilet, drain or sewer. Our guide on what to do after water damage covers the full first 24 hours.
How we remove water
- Check safety and the source. We confirm the water is off, check for electrical hazards and identify the water category.
- Pump standing water. Deep water is pumped out with submersible pumps.
- Extract from carpet and pad. Truck-mounted or portable extractors pull water out of carpet. Weighted extraction tools press water out of the pad. See wet carpet extraction for how we decide what carpet can be saved.
- Find hidden water. Moisture meters and thermal imaging show water under tile, behind baseboards and inside wall cavities.
- Open trapped areas. Baseboards may come off and small holes are drilled behind them so air can reach wet wall cavities.
- Start drying. Dehumidifiers and air movers go in the same visit. See structural drying for the next stage.
Equipment we use
- Truck-mounted and portable extractors for carpet and large areas of standing water
- Submersible pumps for deep water
- Weighted and wand extraction tools for carpet pad
- Moisture meters and thermal cameras to find water you can't see
- Low-grain refrigerant dehumidifiers and high-velocity air movers to begin drying
Common sources of East Valley water emergencies
Most emergency calls here start inside the house rather than outside it:
- Split supply lines under sinks and toilets, and appliance leaks from washers, dishwashers and refrigerators
- A burst pipe inside a wall or ceiling
- Water heater tanks that fail in garages and closets
- AC condensate pans that overflow into ceilings
- Toilet and drain backups, which are treated as contaminated water
Monsoon storms add a second wave of calls between June and September, when heavy rain gets in around doors, windows and roofs.
Clean water vs contaminated water
The water's source changes the whole job. Clean water from a supply line can usually be extracted and dried, and most materials can be saved. Water from a toilet overflow, washing machine or sewer line carries bacteria, so porous materials it touched are removed and the area is disinfected. If sewage is involved, our sewage backup cleanup process applies.
What it costs
Extraction is usually billed as part of the full drying job, based on the size of the wet area, the water category and the equipment used. We explain the scope before we start, and we document everything for your insurance claim.