First Creek flooded my basement. What should I do first?
- Don’t walk into standing water if outlets, cords or the panel could be wet. If you can’t shut the power off safely, leave it and call 911 or the power company.
- Take photos and video of the water line, the floor and anything damaged.
- Move what you can carry to a dry room.
- Call or text us at (865) 255-9692, any hour.
If the water is deep, we start with emergency water removal before any drying.
Why is creek water treated differently from a burst pipe?
Water from a broken supply line is Category 1, clean water. Water that comes in from outside, from a creek or surface runoff, is Category 3. It carries soil, bacteria and whatever it picked up on the way, so wet carpet and pad are usually removed instead of cleaned, and the area is cleaned and disinfected after it’s dry.
If a sewer line backs up at the same time, that’s Category 3 too. See sewage cleanup.
Will insurance pay for creek flooding in Fountain City?
That depends on your policy. Many homeowners policies treat water from outside differently from a burst pipe, and some homes carry separate flood coverage. Call your agent and read your policy.
What we can do is keep the record straight. We work with your adjuster and document everything: photos, moisture readings, notes, and what was removed and why. More on insurance help.
How do you dry out an older home’s basement or crawlspace?
We pull out standing water, remove what can’t be saved, then set air movers and dehumidifiers. Older block and stone foundations hold moisture, so we take moisture readings each visit and keep drying until the materials are actually dry, not just dry to the touch.
If a damp space has already grown mold, it needs mold remediation, and the moisture behind it has to be fixed or it comes back.
Cleaning carpet and rugs in Fountain City’s older homes
Older homes often mix wall-to-wall carpet upstairs with hardwood and area rugs downstairs. We clean carpet with truck-mounted steam or low-moisture VLM depending on the fiber and the soil, and we clean area rugs on site or take them back to the shop. See carpet cleaning.