What to Do in the First 24 Hours After Water Damage in Your Austin Home

• 18 Aug 2026
• By Evan Mercer
• 7 min read

In the first 24 hours after water damage, stop the source, make the area electrically safe, document the damage with photos, remove what you can from wet floors and get professional drying started. Drywall, wood and carpet pad keep absorbing water for hours after a leak stops, and in Austin’s warm, humid months mold can begin growing on wet materials in as little as 24 to 48 hours.

We answer emergency calls from Circle C to Round Rock every week, and the same questions come up every time. Here is the checklist we walk homeowners through on the phone while our truck is on the way.

1. Stop the water

Find the fixture shut-off (under the sink, behind the toilet, on the washer lines) or close the main shut-off valve. In many Austin homes the main valve is in a box near the street or in the garage close to the water heater. If the water heater is leaking, also turn off its gas valve or the breaker for an electric unit.

2. Make it safe

• Do not walk through standing water if outlets, cords or appliances are submerged.
• If the breaker panel is dry and safe to reach, switch off power to the wet rooms.
• Watch for sagging ceilings — a bulge of drywall can hold a surprising amount of water. Keep people and pets out from under it.
• Sewage or storm water is category 3 water. Avoid touching it and keep children and pets away.

3. Document before you move things

Take wide photos of every affected room, then close-ups of the source, water lines on walls, damaged flooring and belongings. Short videos work well too. Your insurer will ask for this, and it is much harder to reconstruct later. Keep damaged items unless they are a health hazard — the adjuster may want to see them.

4. Protect contents and start removing water

• Move rugs, electronics, papers and furniture out of the wet area. Put foil or plastic under furniture legs that cannot be moved.
• Mop or blot small amounts of clean water. Do not use a household vacuum on standing water.
• Open interior doors and cabinet doors below sinks so air can move, and run your air conditioning — it removes moisture from the air.

5. Call your insurance company and a restoration company

Report the claim as soon as possible; most policies require prompt notice and “reasonable steps to prevent further damage”. Professional water extraction and structural drying counts as exactly that kind of step. A certified restorer will measure moisture inside walls and floors, not just on the surface, and keep drying logs your adjuster can use.

The first 24 hours decide whether a water loss is a drying job or a rebuild job. Most of what we save, we save because the homeowner acted fast.
— Evan Mercer, Founder & IICRC Master Water Restorer

What not to do

1. Do not wait to see if it dries on its own. Water trapped in wall cavities, under cabinets and under flooring rarely dries without airflow and dehumidification.
2. Do not turn the heat up. Heat without dehumidification raises humidity in the whole house and can spread moisture into dry rooms.
3. Do not paint over stains. A stain means moisture reached the surface; the material behind it may still be wet.
4. Do not throw away damaged items before they are documented.

How long does professional drying take?

Most clean-water losses are dry in three to five days once equipment is set up. Our technicians check temperature, humidity and material moisture every day and adjust the equipment, and they remove it only when readings match unaffected areas. Hardwood, subfloor and concrete can take longer. If walls or ceilings had to be opened, our reconstruction crew handles the repairs afterwards.

When it is not obvious where the water came from

Ceiling stains, a musty smell or a water bill that suddenly jumps often point to a hidden leak. A thermal imaging and moisture mapping inspection finds the source without tearing open walls on a guess — see how we traced a recurring ceiling stain in Tarrytown to a shower valve two rooms away.

If you are dealing with water right now, call our 24/7 line. We will stay on the phone while you find the shut-off and have a certified technician on the way.