Maybe you have never came home from work and discovered that you had a pipe to break in your house somewhere and walked into one or more inches of water throughout your house, but others have. It would have to be really shocking. After the initial shock has worn off, the next question you would ask your self is what to do now? Getting off the water and calling for some help is the logical answer and the sooner the better.

The water is likely coming from an incoming water line and could have a shut off valve under the sink or on a toilet. If this will not stop the water, it will have to be shut off outside at the main source. If you do not have a proper tool to do this with, you need to call the emergency phone number for your water company. If you have a well pump, you need to cut the power to it off.

Do not just stand around idle while you wait for a water damage team to arrive. You should get as many things in danger of being ruined out of the floor and to safety as quickly as you can. If you can, call on a neighbor or two to help. Once you have as much out of the water as possible, open the doors if you can and start sweeping it out. It will probably be no use to try and get it out of carpets without the right equipment.

When the water damage team arrives, let them begin working. If you can not be of help to them, just stay out of their way. The sooner the water has been gotten up and dried up, the less likelihood there will be for any permanent damage or mold development. A professional water damage crew will know exactly what steps need to be taken to ensure your carpeting is sucked as dry as it can be and save the floors underneath. They have special equipment for drying hardwood floors to prevent cupping or warping.

Just know that these specific procedures are used when the flooding was caused by clean water. If the flooding was caused by flooding by Mother Nature or sewage backing up into the home, clean up procedures will be more detailed and more difficult. Do some homework, learn what you can before starting a project like this and you will be much safer in your decisions.