What happens on the first visit
The crew's first job is to get the water out before more of it soaks into the house. On most calls they will:
- Find where the water is coming from and make sure it is shut off. If it is a plumbing failure they cannot stop, they will tell you to call a plumber.
- Pump out anything standing, then run an extractor over carpet and pad.
- Take moisture readings on walls, baseboards, subfloor and cabinets to see how far the water traveled.
- Pull carpet pad and cut out wet drywall that will not dry in place.
- Set air movers and dehumidifiers, and tell you how long drying should take.
Drywall and wood pull water up from the floor for hours after a leak. The faster the standing water is gone, the less of the wall has to come out later.
While you wait
- Close the main water valve if the water is coming from a pipe, a supply line, the water heater or an appliance.
- Keep out of any room where water is touching outlets, cords or a furnace. Shut off those circuits only if you can reach the breaker panel without stepping in water.
- Get rugs, electronics, paperwork and photos up onto a dry surface.
- Take pictures and video of each wet room before you move or throw anything away. Your adjuster will want them.
- Skip the shop vac if the water smells like sewer. That water needs a crew with protective gear.
Where Omaha water removal calls come from
Most Omaha houses have a basement, so most emergency calls end with water on the lowest floor. A supply line lets go upstairs and the water finds its way down through the ceiling. A water heater in the utility room rusts through and spreads across a finished rec room. A storm overwhelms the sump pit, or a floor drain backs up.
The age of the house changes the details. In older neighborhoods like Dundee, Benson, Field Club and Hanscom Park, a lot of homes still have original galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains, and their basements were dug long before anyone installed drain tile. Out west in Millard, Elkhorn and the newer parts of the city, finished basements are the norm, so the same amount of water ruins more carpet, drywall and furniture.
Crews dispatch across the city, from Florence and North Omaha down through South Omaha and west past 180th Street, and into Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista and Gretna.