The First Hour After Water Damagea calm checklist for Wheat Ridge homes

Most people look for their main shutoff for the first time while water is spraying. Do it now. In many Wheat Ridge homes, the main valve is in the basement on the wall facing the street, close to the water meter or where the pipe comes through the foundation. It may be a round gate valve, which you turn clockwise several times, or a lever-type ball valve, which you turn a quarter turn so the handle is across the pipe.

Old gate valves sometimes seize or fail to close fully. If yours is stiff, have a plumber replace it with a ball valve. Each toilet, sink and the washing machine should also have its own small shutoff valve; knowing these lets you stop a local leak without cutting water to the whole house.

Your next decisions depend on where the water came from. Clean water from a supply pipe or an overflowing sink is the least hazardous, and you can usually start mopping and lifting things right away. Water from a washing machine drain or a toilet without waste is dirtier; wear gloves. Water from a sewer backup, a toilet with waste, or outside flooding is contaminated: keep children and pets away, wear boots and gloves, and leave cleanup of porous materials to professionals.

Tell the contractor and your insurer which kind of water it was. It affects what can be saved and, often, which coverage applies.

Once the water is off and the area is safe, rescue what matters most. Lift photographs, documents, electronics and anything irreplaceable out of the wet area first. Cardboard boxes on a wet floor soak up water quickly; move them or open them and remove the contents. Put aluminum foil or plastic under furniture legs to stop wood stain or rust transferring to carpet.

Do not throw anything away yet unless it is a safety hazard. Your insurer may want to see damaged items or photos of them. Set them aside in a garage or outside, and photograph them.

Report the loss as soon as you can. Most policies expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, which is what the first hour is about, and to notify them promptly. Ask whether they want to send an adjuster before cleanup or whether you should go ahead with mitigation. Keep a note of the claim number, who you spoke to and what they said. Our guide to working with your insurance adjuster explains the rest of the process.

Many first-hour emergencies in Wheat Ridge come from pipes that froze overnight and split as they thawed. After shutting the main, check other exposed pipes for frost or bulges and keep the house warm so they thaw slowly. Do not use an open flame to thaw a pipe. The American Red Cross suggests a hair dryer or warm towels on a frozen section, with a faucet open so water can flow as it melts. ^[5]

If water is dripping through a ceiling, put buckets under the drips and keep people out from beneath any bulge, since wet drywall can give way. Do not switch on a light fixture in a wet ceiling. A small hole made with a screwdriver at the lowest point of a bulge lets the water drain into a bucket and reduces the weight, but only do this if you can stand safely and the area is not near wiring. Then go upstairs and find the source: a toilet, tub, sink or appliance in the room above.