What to Do Immediately After Water Damage

Water damage can spread quickly through floors, walls, and furniture. Learn the first steps Toronto homeowners should take to reduce damage and protect their property.

What to Do Immediately After Water Damage in Your Toronto Home

Whether it’s a burst pipe, leaking appliance, basement flood, or heavy rainfall, finding water anywhere inside your home is sure to cause stress

What happens in those critical first few hours will go a long way to reducing the extent of the damage caused. If you’ve discovered water damage in your Toronto home, here are some key actions that will help minimise future issues.

1. Find and Stop the Water Source

If your floodwaters are caused by a plumbing leak, overflowing fixture, or broken appliance, shut off the closest water valve that’s accessible without danger.

For more serious plumbing failures (like a burst pipe), you might have to cut off the home’s main water supply.

If your house is underwater as a result of heavy rains or drainage issues, don’t go into places where water levels are still going up.

2. Be Careful Around Electricity

Water and electricity can be a deadly mix.

Do not walk through any areas with standing water if you think that electrical outlets, appliances, wiring or your electrical panel could have been affected. If you’re unsure whether your electrical system has been compromised by floodwater, don’t risk entering the affected area. Contact a qualified electrician to inspect your home’s electrical components for damage before turning on any lights or plugging anything into an outlet.

3. Identify What Type of Water Is Involved

But every water damage scenario is unique — don’t treat all water damage scenarios as equal! Clean water that’s leaking through a supply line is completely different from a disaster caused by water coming up out of a sewer backup (or if you’re unlucky enough to experience a flood whose water has been heavily contaminated).

Make sure never to have direct contact with sewage or any water that can clearly be seen as being contaminated. There are some additional steps you need to take for this kind of cleanup.

4. Move Valuable Items Away from the Water

Move the dry furniture (including electronics), documents, rugs, and other items out of the affected area if it's safe to do so. Don’t put yourself at risk by trying to haul large pieces of furniture out of the house by yourself. Assess what items have taken in water, as they might need special attention, such as drying and restoration. Some will require replacement.

5. Take Photos Before Cleanup Begins

Document everything with photos and videos by taking clear pictures of the affected rooms, damaged belongings, and potential sources for the water. These can be used as records if items have already been moved around or damage has been cleaned up. Also keep track of all your receipts and notes about emergency repairs and cleanup efforts.

6. Start Drying the Area

But just because you’ve removed all the water that was visibly there doesn’t mean your house isn’t still damp somewhere else.

That’s why it’s important to know how water gets hidden and what you do to monitor moisture levels once the initial emergency has passed.

A few cups (or gallons) of clean water may be manageable if you have good ventilation and use tools such as towels, fans, and/or a dehumidifier. Larger quantities will require professional water extraction equipment and proper moisture monitoring.

7. Do Not Ignore Damp Walls or Flooring

Discolouration, bubbling paint, swollen baseboards, soft drywall, lifting flooring. These signs suggest there’s moisture underneath.

Painting over the stain or just drying out what you see on the surface doesn’t deal with the fact that water may have been soaked up by the building materials and could be hiding away somewhere else.

You might find wet areas if you act quickly. This will prevent things from getting worse.

8. Watch for Mold After Water Damage

There are several situations where building materials become wet enough for mould to grow.

Keep an eye out for musty smells and strange colours on walls - sometimes these will give you clues about how damp things got.

Removing extra moisture and correcting the cause of the water problem comes first - don't just think about dealing with the obvious signs of mould growth later.

9. Contact Your Insurance Provider

Contact your insurance provider if the extent of the damage was significant. This can depend significantly upon your individual policy as well as the cause of the water damage, so be sure to reach out and learn exactly what documentation they expect from you and whether there’s an ability for you to get some emergency restoration done before moving forward with a professional. When should you call a restoration professional?

You should also consider getting professional help if water got into multiple rooms or touched walls or flooring. Restoration experts can find places where there’s still moisture that you might not be able to see yourself. And they’ll take care of removing standing water and drying out damaged things, which makes managing secondary damage much easier. You might also want to look at hiring pros if your situation includes water touching your basement, has been going on for some time, or potentially contains sewage or other contaminants.

A Quick Note for Toronto Homeowners

Water Damage – Toronto Properties have experienced Water Damage as a result of plumbing failures, basement seepage, sewer backup, storms and other weather conditions that are seasonal.

Where is my Main Water Shut-Off? And Emergency Plan! – Knowing where your main water shut-off is and knowing what to do if there has been water damage will save you some valuable time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I repair my own water damage?

Small amounts of clean water are sometimes possible for homeowners to manage themselves, but most other situations need expert intervention, including large floods, contaminated water or moisture within walls/floors.

Do you need to take down wet drywall right away?

Not necessarily. We will assess factors such as the extent of moisture exposure (i.e., how wet it got), its duration, and whether there were contaminants. Moisture testing can reveal whether your item can be successfully dried out.

Why does my room still smell even though all the water is gone?

Often because there is still moisture contained in items such as carpeting, drywall, flooring or other construction materials. A persistent mustiness means that an inspection is needed for these materials.

Need Help with Water Damage?

At On Call Restoration, we are here to assist you in assessing the extent of the damage and beginning the recovery process for your home or business.

Contact: 437-600-9271