Try and imagine this scenario: you are stuck in rush hour traffic, heading home after a particularly hard day of work. After a rough hour of stop-and-go traffic, you have finally reached your destination and are looking forward to a relaxing evening. Upon opening your door, however, you are shocked to see that there is a layer of water all throughout your home. Your coffee table, end tables, sofa, and all of your decorative items are now submerged in an inch or two of water. You are shocked and speechless. You think, "Well, there goes my relaxing afternoon." What should you do now?

The first and foremost thing you need to do is to find out the source of the leak. Check underneath your kitchen sink, your bathroom sink and toilet, your washer, or your water heater for a shut-off valve. If you have shut the water off from these sources and water is still continuing to rise, then shut the water off from the main source outside.

Second, call a local water damage restoration company to come over right away. In the meantime, you must try to salvage as many of your belongings as you can and rid your home of water as soon as possible. This tremendous task may require you to enlist the help of your neighbors or any family and friends who live nearby. Start with the furniture. Move all furniture outside of the home. Once you do that, try and scoop the water and dump it on your yard outside or collect it in buckets. If you manage to get the water down to the point where you cannot scoop it out anymore, then you will need to sweep the remainder with a broom.

By this time, the water damage professionals should have arrived. Try to offer as much assistance as you can; otherwise, let them do their job and stay out of their way. They will try to get rid of the excess moisture as soon as possible to prevent any major damage being done to your walls and floors. If your floors are hardwood or tile, there is a good chance that there will not be any damage because the service professionals will use equipment that can absorb all the moisture from your floors. If your floors are covered with carpet, however, extracting all the water out will prove more difficult and take longer. With the right service, your carpet should be very dry and will not cause any problems, such as mold growth, in the future.