Contact Charlottesville Water Restoration

What should you do first when water gets into your house in Charlottesville?

Start with safety and the water supply, and call us while you work down this list.

• Unplug nearby electronics only if the outlet and the floor around it are dry, and leave anything sitting in water where it is until the power is off.
• Find the main shutoff and turn it clockwise until it stops. In a basement it's often next to the water meter, low on the wall that faces the street.
• If the water came up through a floor drain or a toilet, treat it as sewage and stop running water anywhere in the house so you don't add to the backup.
• If the sump pump is running nonstop and still losing ground, tell us on the call, because that changes what equipment the crew brings.
• If a frozen pipe split, close the main valve before it thaws further, and skip open flames or heat guns on the pipe.
• Lift furniture onto blocks or move it to a dry room if you can do it safely, and leave heavy pieces for the crew.
• The EPA recommends drying water damaged areas within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold, so call as soon as the source is stopped.
• If you plan to file with your insurance company, check your policy's notice rules and read the Indiana Department of Insurance claim tips before you make permanent repairs.

What will we ask when you call about water damage in Charlottesville?

The first call takes a few minutes, and most of it is about where the water came from and how far it spread.

• Whether you were able to close the main valve.
• Whether neighbors on your street are seeing the same backup, which can point to the public sewer.
• If you've seen standing water when you look in the crawl space access.
• About how long the water has been sitting.
• Whether the power to the wet area is on or off.
• The name of your insurance company, if you've already decided to file.
• If there's a dog or other pet the crew should know about.

Short answers are enough, since the crew will look at everything again in person.

How does the first visit to your house work?

Their first job is the source. Once the leak or backup is stopped and the power is safe, they move on to how far the water went.

Next they map the wet area with moisture meters, because water travels under flooring and behind baseboards farther than it looks. Our crew takes the damage photos as they go and puts them into a photo report.

Our water restoration manager is IICRC certified. The IICRC publishes the S500 standard for water damage restoration and the S520 standard for mold remediation.

Once the damage is documented, someone walks you through it in plain terms, and the decision about insurance stays with you. Check your own policy for what it covers.

For a sewage backup, expect the crew to clean and disinfect the area before drying starts, and to remove soaked materials that can't be saved.

Once you give the go ahead, extraction and drying start. The crew comes back to check the readings and moves equipment as areas dry out.

What should the crew know about homes in Charlottesville?

Around Charlottesville, farmhouse style homes are common. Foundations here range between full basements and crawl spaces, so let us know which one your house sits on. Cast iron drain lines in older houses corrode or let roots in over time, which can lead to backups. Heavy rain raises groundwater here, and that can push water through basement floors and walls. Tell the person who answers what you know, and the crew will take it from there.

Where does the Charlottesville number take calls from?

Homeowners in these parts of Charlottesville use this page:

• Original Platted Village Core · most with basements
• National Road Corridor · most with basements
• Jackson Township Rural Parcels · homes from the 1940s to 1980s, most with basements
• Ripley Township Rural Parcels
• Eastern Hancock School District Residential Area · built mostly in the 1950s to 1990s, most with basements
• Henry and Cleveland Vicinity · basements are common

We also take calls from nearby Carthage, Knightstown, Wilkinson, Greenfield, Morristown and Spiceland. If you're not sure your street is in range, call and ask, and the person who answers will tell you whether a crew can get to you. You can read more about water damage restoration in Charlottesville and basement flooding.

What do people ask before calling about water damage in Charlottesville?