Shut the main valve, cut power to wet rooms if it is safe to reach the breakers, and call (413) 603-1274. Every hour water sits, more of it soaks into floors, walls and framing.
Why extraction comes first
Drying equipment works on damp materials. It cannot keep up with standing water. Removing the water fast, from the floor, the carpet and the pad, cuts drying time and saves more of the house. Water left for a day starts wicking up walls, swelling floors and feeding mold.
What we extract
- Standing water on basement floors, with submersible pumps
- Water held in carpet and pad, with weighted extraction
- Water on hardwood, vinyl, tile and laminate
- Water trapped under cabinets and in toe kicks
- Water held in a sagging ceiling, drained safely
What you can do before we arrive
- Stop the water. Main valve. See how to shut it off.
- Stay safe. Keep out of water near outlets, cords and the panel.
- Lift what matters. Photos, documents, electronics and rugs off the floor.
- Put foil or blocks under furniture legs so stains do not transfer to wet carpet.
- Take photos and video before anything is moved or thrown out.
- Call us. (413) 603-1274.
One call: extraction, the pipe and the drying
Most extraction companies will not touch the plumbing, and most plumbers will not touch the water. We do both on the same visit:
- Stop and fix the source. The burst pipe, valve or supply line is repaired and tested.
- Extract. Pumps and extractors remove the standing water.
- Remove what cannot be saved. Carpet pad, cardboard and soaked insulation.
- Set drying equipment. Dehumidifiers and air movers placed for the rooms and materials.
- Measure until dry. Moisture readings logged every visit. See structural drying.
Clean water, gray water and sewage
Water from a burst supply pipe is clean water at first. After a day or two sitting on floors it is no longer clean, and anything from a sewer, a floor drain backup or a river flood is treated as contaminated from the start. That changes what can be saved and how it is cleaned. If the water came up from a drain, see sewage backup cleanup.
Why a shop vac is not enough
A household wet vac can pick up a puddle, and it is worth using while you wait. But it pulls little water out of carpet and pad, fills in a minute or two, and has to be emptied by hand. Truck-mounted and commercial portable extractors pull water out of carpet with far more suction, and weighted tools can press water out of pad without removing it. Every gallon taken out as liquid is a gallon the dehumidifiers do not have to pull out of the air, which can take days off drying.
Extraction in basements
Basements in Chicopee often have no floor drain, or one that is clogged or sits at the high point of the floor. With an inch or more of water, a submersible pump moves it out through a hose to the yard or a drain. Once it is down to a film, extractors and squeegees finish the job. If the water is rising faster than it can be pumped, the source has not been stopped yet: check the main valve and the water heater valve first.
How much water are we talking about?
A half-inch supply line at normal house pressure can release several gallons a minute. A line that runs for an hour can put hundreds of gallons into a house, and most of it does not stay where you can see it. It runs under walls, into floor cavities and down to the floor below. That is why extraction is followed by moisture mapping, so drying goes where the water actually went. See leak detection and moisture mapping.
After extraction
Floors may still feel damp when we leave. That is normal. Extraction removes the bulk, and drying equipment handles the rest over the following days. Keep foot traffic on wet carpet light, and keep the equipment running.
Water extraction questions
Can I use my shop vac?
For a small spill, yes. A shop vac cannot pull water out of carpet pad or keep up with inches of water, and it does nothing for wet walls.
Can wet carpet be saved?
Often, if the water was clean and it is extracted quickly. The pad usually has to be replaced. See wet carpet drying.
What does extraction cost?
It depends on the area, the depth, the type of water and the flooring. You get the price before work starts. See water damage cleanup cost.
Water on the floor? Call now
Call (413) 603-1274 now. Locally owned in Chicopee: we fix the pipe, extract the water and start drying in one call. See areas we serve.