The First 72 Hours After Water Damage in Colorado Springs

Hour zero to one: safety and the shut-off

Make the space safe, stop the source and keep people and pets away from the water. The priority is the household and the electrical system, not the damage.

Find the source if it is obvious, and turn off the supply to it at the valve. If the source is unknown, close the main valve for the house and watch the water meter. Keep people and pets out of standing water near outlets, cords, appliances and the electrical panel.

If the water is near any electrical equipment, switch off the power at the panel if the panel is dry and easy to reach. If the panel is wet or the water has reached it, leave the panel alone and call for help.

• Close the valve that feeds the source, or the main valve
• Keep people and pets out of the water
• Switch off power to the wet area if the panel is dry
• Call the line and describe the water, its source and whether it is still coming

Hours one to six: removing the water and recording the source

The standing water is removed, the affected areas are photographed and the source is recorded in writing. The water is removed before the drying is planned.

The crew extracts the standing water, and the wet surfaces are wiped and extracted to remove as much moisture as possible. The homeowner should photograph the water and the damage before anything is moved, and should note the time each photograph was taken.

Write down the source, the time it was found, the time it was stopped, the water's category and the names of anyone who was present. A written account made at the time is the most useful record for an insurer, and it is easy to keep and hard to reconstruct later.

Day one: reading the building and starting the drying

The crew reads the floor, walls and framing with meters, marks the wet areas on a plan and sets the drying equipment. The homeowner sees the first readings and the plan.

A moisture meter and, where it helps, a thermal camera show how far the water went. The readings are taken at set points and written on a plan, and the dry standard for each material is set from an unaffected part of the house.

The equipment is placed for the room and the material. Air movers push air across the wet surfaces, and a dehumidifier removes the moisture that the air picks up. The first readings are the baseline against which the rest of the drying is judged.

• Take readings on the floor, the walls and the framing
• Mark the wet areas on a plan of the rooms
• Set the dry standard for each material from an unaffected area
• Place the air movers and the dehumidifier for the room
• Log the first readings and show them to the homeowner

Day two: the decisions about what is removed

The materials that cannot be dried are removed, and the decisions are made with the readings in front of the homeowner. The removed items are listed and photographed before they leave the house.

Carpet pad, cardboard, soaked insulation and drywall that has wicked water are the usual removals. A homeowner should be shown the reading that led to each decision and should be asked to approve it, so there is no surprise at the end.

Hard surfaces are cleaned and disinfected where the water category calls for it. The cleaning is done after the removal, and the surfaces are dried before the room is closed.

Day three: the measured drying

The equipment is adjusted to the readings, and the readings are logged at each visit until the materials meet the dry standard. The drying is judged by the numbers, not by the look of the room.

A material that is drying slowly may need more air movement or a new opening to reach the cavity behind it. A material that has reached the standard can have its equipment removed from that area, and the decision is written into the log.

The homeowner should keep the rooms closed to traffic where the drying is under way, and should report any new stain or smell at once. A new mark on a wall that appears after the first days is evidence that the moisture has reached a new area.

After three days: the record and the repair

Once every reading is at the dry standard, the equipment is removed and the record is handed over. The repair of the building is a separate job that follows the drying.

The final record includes the readings, the photographs, the list of removed material and the plan of the rooms. The record is given to the homeowner and kept with the insurance file.

The repair of the walls, floors and ceilings follows, and the source is repaired by the appropriate tradesperson. The homeowner should keep the record of who did each part of the work and what was paid.

Working with the insurer while the drying is under way

Tell the insurer what has happened, keep it updated with the readings and ask for its inspection in writing before anything is removed.

An insurer generally wants to know about a loss while the drying is under way, and it may want to inspect the materials before they are removed. Ask the insurer what it needs and when, and write the answer down. Send the readings and the photographs as the drying progresses, so the insurer has the same facts as the crew.

Keep copies of every message. A short weekly update that lists the readings and the decisions taken is enough to keep the file complete without taking the homeowner's time.

What happens in the weeks after the drying?

The repair of the building is scheduled, the source is confirmed fixed and the homeowner checks the rooms through the next rainy period.

Once the drying is complete, the repair of the walls, floors and ceilings can be planned. The repair should be scheduled after the source has been confirmed fixed, because a repair over a source that is still active will be wet again. The homeowner should have the plumber, the roofer or the window contractor confirm the repair in writing.

Through the next rainy period, check the rooms after each heavy rain. A new mark in the repaired area means the repair has not reached the source, and the crew can come back to read it. Keep a dated note of each check so the history of the house is clear.

What should a homeowner keep and discard during the first days?

Keep the damaged material, the receipts and the photographs, and discard only what the insurer has released and what is unsafe to keep.

Keep the removed material until the insurer has inspected it or has said in writing that it may be discarded. Keep the receipts for any item bought to replace what was lost, and keep the photographs of each item before it was moved. A short list of everything removed, with the room it came from, is a useful part of the file.

Some material is unsafe to keep, such as sewage-soaked carpet or a visibly moldy piece of drywall. Ask the crew how to dispose of it safely, and photograph it before it leaves the house.

How does a homeowner protect the rest of the house during the drying?

Keep the drying rooms closed, move the valuables out of the path of the air movers and keep the rest of the house ventilated and at a steady temperature.

Closing the doors to the drying rooms keeps moisture from moving into the rest of the house. Move valuables and furniture that is not wet out of the rooms being dried, and keep rugs and paper away from the air movers. The rest of the house should be kept at a steady temperature, which helps the drying run evenly.

A household fan can help the air move in the dry rooms, but it should not blow into a wet room. Ask the crew where fans are useful and where they would spread moisture.

A short checklist for the homeowner in the first three days

A short list of tasks, done in order, keeps the household safe and the record complete while the crew is working.

Each day, check that the source is still stopped, that the power to the wet area remains off, and that the drying equipment is running and the readings are being logged. Note the time of each check. Keep the list of removed items up to date as material leaves the house, and photograph each item before it goes.

At the end of each day, write a short note of what was done, what was found and what is planned. The note costs a few minutes and gives the insurer and the crew the same account of the work.

• Confirm the source is stopped and the wet area is powered off
• Check the equipment is running and the readings are logged
• Update the list of removed items with photographs
• Write a short end-of-day note for the file