When should I call a water damage restoration company?
Short answer: Call a restoration company when water has reached drywall, insulation, subfloor, or cabinetry, when more than roughly 100 square feet of flooring is wet, when the water is gray or contaminated, when water has been present more than 24 hours, when the loss is going onto an insurance claim, or when water is near electrical equipment. Below those thresholds, a clean surface spill caught immediately is a DIY job.
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Call Now for Emergency Help(720) 319-807324/7 Emergency Call HandlingKey Takeaways
- Any sewage or contaminated water: call immediately, do not extract yourself.
- Water into wall cavities, insulation, or subfloor: call, because surface drying will not reach it.
- Unknown duration or a leak found behind a wall or under a cabinet: call for moisture mapping.
- Insurance claim involved: call, because documentation matters as much as drying.
- Multi-unit or commercial property: call, because liability extends beyond your space.
The Six Triggers
- Contamination: gray or black water, sewage, or flood water.
- Area: roughly 100 square feet of wet flooring, or more than one room.
- Materials: drywall, insulation, subfloor, hardwood, plaster, cabinetry, or built-ins.
- Duration: more than 24 hours wet, or unknown.
- Documentation: any insurance claim, landlord, HOA, or tenant involvement.
- Safety: water near panels, outlets, furnaces, or a sagging ceiling.
Cases People Wrongly Consider Minor
- A supply line drip under a sink that has been running quietly for weeks.
- A dishwasher leak that shows only at the cabinet toe kick.
- A ceiling stain from an upstairs bathroom that stopped growing.
- Water in an unfinished basement that soaked stored contents and the bottom of drywall.
- A washing machine overflow on tile that ran under the wall into the next room.
What Calling Early Buys You
A same-day extraction and dry-out usually saves carpet, keeps drywall intact, and avoids reconstruction. A call three days later frequently converts a drying job into a demolition and rebuild. The cost difference is routinely several thousand dollars for the same original leak.
What To Do, Step By Step
- Stop the source and make the area safe.
- Assess against the six triggers above.
- Call and describe source, duration, area, materials, and hazards.
- Photograph before anyone moves contents.
- Notify your insurer the same day if you intend to file.
Doing It Yourself
Handle it yourself when the water is clean, the area is small and hard-surfaced, the spill was caught within minutes, and no porous material absorbed water. Extract, dry the surface, run a fan, and check the area for odor or swelling over the next week.
Colorado and Denver Considerations
Denver metro calls spike during January freeze-thaw cycles and during late-summer storm runoff. During those periods, calling early also matters for scheduling, because crew and equipment availability tightens across the Front Range.
Exceptions and Important Considerations
- If the ceiling is sagging or water is near a panel, call before doing anything else.
- If you rent, notify the landlord or property manager first and document the notification.
- If a shared wall or ceiling with a neighboring unit is wet, the other unit needs inspection too.
Related Questions
For a moisture reading, usually yes. Confirming that a cavity is dry costs far less than discovering months later that it was not.
Emergency water response is 24/7, and off-hours response for active water is normal.
No. Inspection and moisture mapping can stand alone, and the results tell you whether further work is warranted.
Get the source stopped first, by shutoff valve, main shutoff, plumber, or roof tarp, then drying can be productive.
24/7 Emergency Water Damage Response
Call (720) 319-8073 for 24/7 emergency response across Denver metro.