First 24 Hours After Water Damage: A Homeowner Checklist

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Finding water in your house is a gut punch. Maybe it's a toilet that overflowed upstairs, a water heater that gave out in the garage or a supply line under the sink that finally let go. Whatever it is, the first day matters, and most of what matters is in your hands.

This guide is your checklist. If you want to know what a mitigation crew does once they arrive, read the first 48 hours of water mitigation. This one is about you.

What Do I Do in the First Few Minutes?

1. Stop the water. Shut the valve at the fixture if you can, or shut off the main. If you don't know where the main is, look in the garage, near the water heater or in a box near the street.
2. Make it safe. Turn off power to wet rooms at the breaker, but only if you can reach the panel without standing in water. Keep people out from under wet or sagging ceilings.
3. Get kids and pets out of the wet area.

What Should I Document?

Before you move much, take photos and video:

• Wide shots of each affected room, so it's clear where you are
• Close-ups of the source, like the broken line, failed valve or overflowing fixture
• Water on floors, walls and ceilings
• Damaged belongings, with brand and model when you can see it
• The date and time, either in the photo data or written down

Keep any broken part, like a failed supply line. Put it in a bag and label it.

How Do I Protect My Belongings?

• Move electronics, photos, documents and keepsakes to a dry room
• Lift curtains and furniture skirts off wet floors
• Put foil or plastic under furniture legs on wet carpet to prevent staining
• Pull up area rugs and set them somewhere they can't drip on dry floors
• Don't throw anything away until it's photographed

What Should I Not Do?

• Don't use a household vacuum on water. It's an electrical hazard.
• Don't turn on ceiling fans or lights in a room with a wet ceiling.
• Don't run the HVAC if water reached the system or ducts, until someone checks it.
• Don't start tearing out drywall or carpet yourself before it's documented.
• Don't wait to see if it dries on its own. It usually just dries on the surface.

Who Do I Call, and in What Order?

• A plumber, if the source needs repair before water can come back on.
• A mitigation company, to extract water, find where it traveled and start drying.
• Your carrier or agent, if you choose to. Read your policy or ask your agent about what it requires. We don't give coverage advice.

Here's something Matthew wants every homeowner to know: you get to choose who works on your house. In one of our videos, a family called their carrier first, a crew they didn't pick showed up and the mitigation wasn't done to standard. They ended up having to redo it. Take a breath and choose someone you trust.

What If the Water Is Dirty?

If the water came from a toilet, a sewer backup or outside flooding, treat it as contaminated. Keep people and pets away, don't touch it without protection and let the crew handle it. Our guide on Category 3 water explains why.

What Happens Next?

Once the source is stopped and help is on the way, you've done the hard part. CMDR Restoration, our mitigation partner (licensed by TDLR, RCO #1801), will map the moisture and dry the structure. Then G3 rebuilds what has to come out. Learn more on our water damage page or call (945) 300-9018.

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep learning: see our Water Damage page, read Where Is My Main Water Shutoff? Go Find It Now, or read what homeowners say in our customer reviews.