Call and describe what is happening
Describe where the water is, whether it is still arriving, what it came from and what it has already reached. That helps an independent provider judge urgency; availability varies by provider.
How Water Damage Restoration Works
There is no mystery to it. You call, an independent provider works out how urgent it is, the water comes out, the building gets dried and measured, and the repairs happen once you have approved them. Here is the same thing in more detail so nothing on the day is a surprise.
- Restoration Referral Service
- Independent Pros
- Drying & Repairs
From Your Call to a Dry House
Make the building safe
Shut the water off at the meter box or a fixture valve if it turns easily, stay off wet flooring near outlets and appliances, and keep out of any room with a sagging ceiling.
Provider inspects and quotes
An independent provider typically finds the wet edge with moisture readings and photographs everything before it is disturbed. Ask for the extraction and drying price before work starts.
Extract, dry, then repair
Standing water comes out, equipment goes in and is re-read at every visit, and drywall, trim, flooring and paint go back once the readings show the structure is dry.
While You Wait for a Provider
Stopping the water matters more than anything you can do to the mess. Most Austin properties have a shutoff in a meter box set into the ground near the curb, usually needing a meter key or a wrench, and many houses also have a valve where the supply enters the building. Find yours before you need it and check that it actually turns.
After that, keep clear rather than tidy. Stay off wet flooring near outlets, extension leads or appliances. Do not open a bulging ceiling to let it drain, and do not run the air conditioning if the water came from a drain or from outside, because the system will carry contaminated air into rooms that were fine. If a drain has backed up, stop using water anywhere in the building, including the washing machine and dishwasher.
What you can usefully do is photograph everything before it moves, lift small items and rugs off wet floors if it is safe, put foil or blocks under furniture legs, and open a window only if the air outside is genuinely drier than the air inside, which on a humid Austin afternoon it often is not.
Read about the restoration services, find your town on the service areas page, compare drying against replacing, or look through the common questions before you call.
What You Get in Writing
Before work starts you should have a scope describing what is being removed, what is being dried and what the rebuild involves, with a price against each part. During the job you should get moisture readings at the same points each visit. At the end you should get a final set of readings and the photographs. If you are making an insurance claim, that package is what the adjuster will want to see, and our plain-language notes on claims cover what else to keep. You can also check how the referral works.
Arrange water damage service in Austin
Describe what the water is doing right now when you call to be connected with a provider.