Who to Call for Water Damage: The Right Order of Calls

For water damage inside your house, the call is a water damage restoration company: they pump out the water, dry the walls and floors to a measured standard, and record the readings your insurance claim is built on. Before that call, stop the water yourself at the valve. After it, a plumber or other tradesperson fixes whatever failed, and your insurer gets a call the same day to open the claim.

Is Water Damage an Emergency?

Yes, when any of these is true: water is still arriving, it is spreading across floors or coming through a ceiling, it is near outlets, cords or the electrical panel, it came from a toilet, drain or sewer, or it has soaked carpet, drywall or insulation. The EPA's guidance is to dry wet building materials within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold, and the IICRC S500 standard puts mold onset on wet material in the same 24–48 hours window. That clock starts when the material gets wet, not when you find it.

It can wait until business hours only when it is small and already stopped: a spill you have wiped up, a slow drip into a bucket under a sink with the valve closed and nothing around it wet.

Is a water leak an emergency?

A leak is an emergency when it is under pressure or you cannot stop it. A supply line, a burst pipe or a water heater keeps flowing until someone closes a valve, so close the fixture valve or the main water shutoff now. A leak that only runs when a drain is used stops when you stop using that fixture. A leak you have stopped is no longer an emergency for plumbing, but anything it soaked still is.

Who to Call First: The Order of Calls

1. 1Stop the water and cut the power. Close the fixture valve or the main. If water is near outlets or the panel, switch off that room's breaker from a dry spot; if you would have to stand in water to reach the panel, stay out and call the electric utility. If a pressurized leak will not stop and you cannot find the main, a plumber is your first call.
2. 2Photograph before you move anything. Wide shots of each room, close-ups of the source, the waterline on walls, and anything damaged. Photos taken before cleanup are the evidence a claim rests on.
3. 3Call a water damage restoration company. This is the call that limits the damage. A certified crew extracts standing water, finds the wet areas you cannot see with moisture meters and a thermal camera, sets drying equipment and logs readings until the structure is dry.
4. 4Open the insurance claim the same day. Call the claims line, get a claim number, and ask what your deductible is. You do not need an adjuster's visit before drying starts: policies require you to prevent further damage, and prompt, documented drying is how you meet that duty.

The plumber, roofer or appliance technician who repairs the failed part fits in whenever they can come. A repair can often wait until morning; wet drywall cannot.

Should I Call a Plumber or a Restoration Company First?

It depends on whether the water has stopped. If you cannot stop it, the plumber comes first, because nothing else matters while it runs. If you have closed a valve, the restoration company comes first, because the plumber fixes the pipe but does not dry the house. Water that has wicked into drywall, subfloor and insulation needs extraction equipment, dehumidifiers and a meter to say when it is done.

Do I Call Insurance or a Restoration Company First?

Start drying first, and open the claim the same day. Waiting for the insurer to approve mitigation is how a covered leak becomes a mold problem, and mold that grew because drying was delayed is often excluded or capped.

Be clear about who does what. A restoration company can share its moisture logs, photos and invoice with your adjuster, and many are used to working with insurers. The claim is still yours: you file it, you speak with the adjuster, and you decide what to accept. Read anything you are asked to sign. A work authorization lets drying start; a form that assigns your insurance benefits to the company is a different document, and you are entitled to ask which one it is before signing. The insurance claim checklist has the order of operations.

Who to Call for Water Damage in Your House, by Situation

Each situation below has its own guide with the full call order. Start with the row that matches what you see.

Two cases are not restoration calls. If the water came from outside and rose from the ground up, such as a river, storm surge or flooded yard pouring in, that is a flood event: it is covered by flood insurance through the NFIP or a private flood policy, not by homeowners insurance, and it is not what our line is for. Water damage vs. flood damage explains the difference. And if you rent, the landlord hires the restoration company: tell them in writing, with photos, the same day.

Who to Call for Water Damage at Night or on a Weekend

The same company you would call on a Tuesday afternoon. Emergency restoration companies take calls around the clock because pipes and water heaters fail at any hour, and the drying clock does not stop for the weekend. Some price after-hours work differently, so ask on the call. What 24-hour water damage service actually means covers what to ask before agreeing to anything at 3 a.m. The insurer can wait until morning if its claims line is closed; the extraction should not.

If you have the water stopped and you are ready to make the restoration call, (888) 840-6512 is answered 24/7 and connects you to an IICRC-certified water damage company taking calls in your ZIP. There is no charge for the referral.

What Happens When You Call

The line opens with a short automated menu. Press 1 for water damage or 2 for mold, then enter the 5-digit ZIP of the property. The line then goes quiet for about half a minute while it connects you to a company covering that ZIP. That silence is normal: stay on. When someone answers, describe what is wet and where the water came from.

Have these ready so the call goes quickly:

• The property address, including the ZIP
• When the water started, as near as you know
• What is wet now: rooms, floors, ceilings, and whether it is still running
• Whether you have opened an insurance claim yet

The company gives you an arrival window for your address on that call. The scope of work and the price are between you and them; ask how they will measure dryness and whether they will share the moisture logs with your adjuster. How to choose a restoration company lists the other questions worth asking.

What Water Damage Usually Costs

Most residential incidents land around $2,000–$6,000, with the full national range running $1,200–$25,000+ once large areas, contaminated water or reconstruction are involved. The category of water moves the number most: clean, gray and black water are handled differently, and contaminated material is removed rather than dried. The water damage restoration cost guide breaks it down by room and category.

Mistakes That Make It Worse

• Waiting to see if it dries. Drywall and subfloor can read dry on the surface and saturated inside for weeks.
• Calling only the plumber. The pipe gets fixed and the wet cavity behind it gets closed up.
• Cleaning before photographing. The adjuster sees only what you recorded.