Six lessons for the first look at a wet room

Before the first call: reading a wet room from the doorway

Water indoors tends to make people hurry. These lessons slow the first look down just enough to keep it safe and to leave a useful record. Each one rests on a federal, state or county page, and none predicts what will happen in your house.

Standing water around a sofa at the foot of the basement stairs

Lesson one: read the room before you step in

Stand in the doorway and look at where the water is in relation to anything electrical: outlets, cords, appliances, the panel. The CDC is clear that nobody turns power on or off, or uses any powered tool while standing in water. A main breaker within reach of dry ground can be switched off from there. If not, an electrician is the call.

The same page tells anyone who smells gas to close the main gas valve, open the windows, get out, and tell the gas utility, the fire department or the police from outdoors, with no sparks.

Lesson two: grade the water from 1 to 10

Give the room a number. An 8, 9 or 10 means water touching electricity, gas in the air, sewage, or a ceiling that bulges or sags. Those get 911 or the utility, and the people in the house move away from the room first. A 4 to 7 means water that is still spreading, or wet drywall and carpet, which means arranging a contractor visit this week. A 1, 2 or 3 is a dried spill or a slow drip.

The ceiling part comes from county and state flood guides that name a sagging, water-soaked ceiling as something to watch for, and drywall that stays wet as something that turns fragile.

Lesson three: find the source and the shutoff

Where did the water start? A supply line, a drain, a roof, a window? If a pipe has burst, Gwinnett County's water office says the step is to shut off the main shutoff valve. In Douglas County, the water and sewer lines from the meter to the house belong to the homeowner, WSA's page says, and a plumber can tell which side of the meter a problem is on.

If water is running down the street with no clear cause, WSA takes the report at 770-949-7617 on weekdays or 770-942-6633 after hours, which it keeps for emergencies only.

Lesson four: photograph before you protect

Georgia's insurance office advises documenting the damage with images or recordings before temporary repairs. Take a wide photo of the room from the doorway, then close ones of the stain, the waterline and the source. Keep receipts for anything bought to protect the room, and keep damaged items for the adjuster.

The same office cautions that a claim can be turned down when permanent repairs are finished before anyone has inspected the damage. What a given policy pays is for the insurer to decide.

Lesson five: tell the right people in the right order

A renter passes the photos to the landlord or the property manager right away. Homeowners call the insurer, since a policy may set a deadline for notice. The utility numbers worth having: WSA for water and sewer, GreyStone Power at 1-866-473-9786 for outages in most of the county, Georgia Power for most of the city of Douglasville, and, for a gas odor or leak, Atlanta Gas Light at 877.427.4321.

Only after that comes the phone call to a contractor.

Lesson six: what to leave alone until later

Leave the gasoline pump or generator outdoors, with 20 feet of open ground between it and every door, window and vent. Leave food that touched the water in a bag; the CDC's rule is that when in doubt, throw it out. Leave the heating and cooling system off until it has been checked, since the CDC says a flooded system can spread mold through the house.

If you want to talk a wet room through with someone, call (678) 940-9083 and describe the doorway view to the contractor.

Gather the street address, the name of the wet room and some phone photos. Renting? The landlord or property manager hears first. Then call (678) 940-9083 to ask if a contractor covers Lithia Springs, Douglasville or Winston.

Call (678) 940-9083