My water heater leaked and now there’s water everywhere!

6/5/2020 (Permalink)

The shut off on this heater is a bit out of the way. Knowing where your shut offs are can save time, hassle, and money.

What to do first:

1. Cathartic scream. It helps. If you’re not sure about that, we suggest a big sigh.
2. Turn the water off. If you can, try to turn it off at the source.  There should be a shutoff where the water enters the heater.  If there isn’t one, you might have to go to the main shut off, usually located in the alley. 
3. Call your plumber and insurance agent. Your plumber can fix whatever broke, and your insurance agent can start the claim process.  
4. Call SERVPRO^® of West Amarillo! 806-331-4555

What happens next:

1. We show up in our green trucks and extract all the water we can. Then our technicians will start the drying process.  We will use some combination of:
   1. fans (“air movers” in restoration lingo)
   2. dehumidifiers (or a “dehu”) that removes moisture from the air and speeds drying
   3. mats that force air into the floors and walls (injectidry is the actual name)
   4. a wall drying system (a “medusa”) to get air flowing into the walls.

And when we finish, it will be “Like it never even happened.”^®

Tip: Walk around your home and see if you know where all the water shutoffs are. Nobody has time to find the shutoff in the middle of the night while sloshing through wet carpet listening to the spouse’s cathartic scream.