First Hour After a Flood or Burst Pipe: a Plymouth Homeowner's Checklist

Why the first hour matters

Water spreads fast. Within minutes it soaks into floors, skirting, plaster and the cavities behind your walls. Within a day or two, untreated damp turns into mould and the timber starts to suffer. Acting quickly, and correctly, in the first hour is the single biggest thing you can do to limit the cost and disruption.

Your first-hour checklist

1. Keep everyone safe first. If water is anywhere near electrics, or the water is sewage or flood water from outside, keep clear. Do not wade into standing water that could be live or contaminated.
2. Stop the water at the source. For a burst pipe or a leak, turn off your internal stopcock (usually under the kitchen sink or where the mains enters the house). For external flooding, you cannot stop it, so move to protecting your home.
3. Turn off the electrics, if it is safe to reach the consumer unit. If you cannot reach it safely and dryly, leave it and call for help.
4. Move what you can to higher ground. Lift rugs, electricals, documents and anything of value above the water line. Put foil or wood under furniture legs to stop staining.
5. Document everything for your insurer. Take photos and video before you start cleaning up. Capture the source, the spread, and the damaged items. This protects your claim.
6. Start removing water and ventilating, within reason. Mop or soak up what you safely can and open windows. Do not put yourself at risk to do it.
7. Call your insurer. Report it early and ask what they need. Keep a note of who you spoke to.
8. Call a restoration professional. Fast extraction and proper drying prevents the far costlier secondary damage that appears days later.

Do and do not

• Do photograph everything before you tidy up.
• Do turn off the water and, if safe, the electrics.
• Do get the property dried properly, not just mopped.
• Do not use a domestic vacuum to lift water.
• Do not enter rooms where water is near electrics.
• Do not throw away damaged items before your insurer has seen them.

Three insurance-claim mistakes to avoid

1. Cleaning up before documenting. Photos and video taken before you start are the strongest evidence for your claim.

2. Skipping professional drying. A property that looks dry on the surface can still be soaked underneath. Without documented drying, you may face problems with mould later and with proving the work was done.

3. Throwing away damaged items too soon. Keep them, or at least photograph them clearly, until the claim is agreed.

When to call a professional

If more than a small area is affected, if the water is sewage or flood water, or if it has reached walls, floors or ceilings, call a restoration specialist quickly. Proper extraction, structural drying with monitored moisture readings, and full restoration are what return a property to how it was, and what stops a flood becoming months of disruption.

Frequently asked questions

Who is responsible for a burst pipe? Inside your property, the pipework is generally your responsibility, and the damage is usually covered by buildings or contents insurance. Your supplier is responsible for the mains up to your boundary.

Will my insurance cover water damage? Most buildings and contents policies cover sudden escape of water and flooding, though terms vary. Report it early and document everything.

How quickly should water damage be dealt with? As fast as possible. Extraction and drying within the first day or two prevents mould, rot and far higher repair costs.

Do I need professional drying? For anything more than a minor spill, yes. Surface drying is not the same as drying the structure, and trapped moisture causes problems weeks later.