What to do in the first hour after a pipe bursts
- Shut off the water. Find the main shutoff, often where the line comes into the house, in a basement, crawlspace, garage or near the water heater. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
- Turn off power to wet areas only if the breaker panel is dry and you can reach it without standing in water.
- Call or text us at (865) 255-9692. You can keep working on the steps below while we talk.
- Take photos and video of the water, the broken pipe or fixture, and the damage.
- Move what you can to a dry spot: electronics, papers, photos, rugs, small furniture.
- Open cabinet doors under sinks and in the affected rooms so trapped water can drain and air can get in.
It helps to know where your main shutoff is before you ever need it. If you don’t know, find it this week.
Is it safe to stay in a flooded house?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Get out and call 911 if any of these are true:
- Water is near outlets, cords, appliances or the electrical panel and you can’t safely cut the power.
- You smell gas.
- A ceiling is sagging, bulging or dripping through light fixtures. Wet drywall ceilings can come down without warning.
- The water is sewage or came in from outside and you have no way to keep kids or pets out of it.
Never walk through standing water to reach a breaker box. Wait outside, and we’ll talk through the next steps by phone.
Burst pipes, failed water heaters and leaking supply lines
Most emergency water calls start with one of these:
- Burst pipes. Often after a hard freeze, when lines in exterior walls, crawlspaces or attics split. The break may not show until the pipe thaws.
- Failed water heaters. A tank that rusts through can empty its whole contents onto the floor, then keep refilling until the supply is shut off.
- Washing machine hoses. A burst fill hose runs at full pressure. A drain overflow is gray water, not clean water.
- Ice maker and fridge lines. The thin line behind a refrigerator can drip for weeks under flooring before anyone notices.
- Toilet supply lines and sink connections that crack or slip loose.
Water from a supply line starts out clean, which gives you a better chance of saving carpet and materials if the response is fast.
Storm water in your basement: what to do
Heavy rain in the Knoxville area can push water through foundation walls, window wells and floor drains, especially in homes built on a slope. A sump pump that loses power or burns out during a storm can flood a finished basement in a few hours.
Water that came in from outside counts as Category 3, even when it looks clear. It carries soil, fertilizer and whatever was on the ground. Keep kids and pets out, don’t walk through it barefoot, and plan on soaked carpet and pad being removed rather than cleaned. Our sewage cleanup page explains how Category 3 water is handled.
How do you remove standing water from a house?
Shop vacs and towels can’t keep up with more than a puddle. We use extraction equipment that pulls water out of the floor, carpet and pad far faster and more completely than household tools.
Extraction is the most important step in the whole job. Every gallon pulled out as liquid is a gallon the dehumidifiers don’t have to pull out of the air later, which shortens drying time. Once the standing water is out, we measure moisture in the floors and walls to see how far it spread, and set up air movers and dehumidifiers.
Why do the first 24 to 48 hours matter so much?
Water keeps moving after the leak stops. It wicks up drywall, runs under baseboards, soaks into subfloor and spreads through carpet pad into the next room. The longer it sits, the more material gets wet and the more has to come out.
According to EPA guidance, mold can start growing on wet materials within 24–48 hours. Clean water can also turn into a dirtier category as it sits and soaks through dust and debris. Fast extraction and drying is the cheapest way to keep a small problem small. If mold has already started, our mold remediation page explains what we do.
Should you call your insurance company right away?
If you plan to file a claim, report the loss promptly. Most policies also expect you to take reasonable steps to stop more damage, which is exactly what emergency water removal is.
We work with your adjuster and document everything: photos, moisture readings, notes and what was removed and why. Coverage is between you and your insurance company, so check your policy. See insurance claim help for practical tips.