What to Do in the First Hour After Water Damage
The first sixty minutes decide how much of a Washington home can be saved. Here is the order to work in.
Read the guideHomeowner Guides for Washington Water Damage
Five guides that cover the parts of a water loss nobody prepares you for: the first hour, the insurance call, the signs you cannot see, the wet season checklist and the mold that follows a slow leak.
Written for the Northwest climate, where rain arrives in months rather than storms.
Read in the Order That Fits Your Situation
If water is in the house right now, start with the first hour guide and call while you read it. If the water is gone and you are sorting out what to do next, the insurance and hidden warning signs guides cover the decisions that follow. If nothing has happened yet, the wet season checklist is the one that prevents the phone call.
All guides
Five Guides, Written for Washington
Every guide below is specific to this state: the rain that arrives in months rather than storms, the saturated soil that pushes water into crawl spaces, the freezes east of the Cascades and the windstorms that open roofs to rain.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Water Damage?
What most policies pay for after a burst pipe or appliance leak, what they exclude, and how to document a claim.
Read the guideHidden Water Damage Warning Signs Most Homeowners Miss
Soft drywall, a warped floor, a faint musty smell: the quiet signals that water is still working inside the walls.
Read the guidePreparing a Washington Home for the Wet Season
Gutters, crawl spaces, sump pumps and pipe insulation: the autumn checklist that prevents most winter losses.
Read the guideMold After Water Damage: How Fast It Grows and How to Stop It
Mold can start within 24 to 48 hours. What speeds it up, where it hides, and how remediation actually works.
Read the guideHow to Use These Guides
Water damage is a sequence of decisions, and each guide covers one part of it. The first hour guide is a checklist to follow while the phone is ringing. The insurance guide explains what a carrier will pay for and what it will not, so you know what to document. The hidden warning signs guide is for the quiet cases, where nothing is visibly wet but something is clearly wrong. The wet season guide is preventive work you can do in an afternoon. The mold guide explains the clock that starts the moment a surface stays damp.
None of it replaces a phone call when water is already inside a wall or under a floor. Describing what you see takes five minutes, and a dispatcher can tell you whether the situation needs a crew today or can wait for morning.