Water Extraction in Los Angeles, CA

You walked into the kitchen and the floor was under an inch of water. The supply line under the sink let go sometime in the night, and the water has already reached the hallway. This site connects you by phone with an independent local provider who does water extraction in Los Angeles County.

Pulling the bulk water and tracing where the rest went

Step one for the crew at your door is confirming that no more water is coming in. If it is not, they will show you the valve. With the source closed, truck-mounted or portable extraction units pump and vacuum the standing water off the kitchen and hallway floor. A wet vac from the garage leaves a lot behind. Extraction gear pulls water up out of carpet pad and grout lines.

With the floor no longer under water, the crew moves room to room with a moisture meter. Water travels under baseboards and into the next room before you see it. The readings show where it went. Drying equipment is placed by that moisture map, and so is the decision about which materials come out.

Shut the valve, lift what you can, photograph the rest

If the valve is somewhere you can get to without standing in water, close it. Most Los Angeles homes have a shutoff where the line comes in from the meter, often near the front hose bib. Do not step into water that has reached an outlet, a power strip, or an appliance cord.

Carry anything light enough to lift out of the wet rooms. Anything too heavy to move gets a square of foil or plastic under each leg so the finish does not bleed into the carpet. Before a single item is shifted or a board is lifted, photograph the rooms with your phone. Then make the call.

Tile cleans up, carpet pad does not

Once the standing water is gone, the tile and sealed concrete common in LA kitchens and garages usually need nothing more than a cleaning. Solid hardwood can often be dried if extraction starts soon, though some cupping is possible. Carpet can sometimes be saved. The pad under it almost never is.

Expect the crew to remove laminate flooring, particleboard cabinet bases, and any drywall that sat below the water line. For each piece that comes out, ask which meter reading justified it. Extraction is only the first step. Getting the walls and floor back to normal is the work of structural drying, where air movers and dehumidifiers take over.

Slab floors, LADWP shutoffs, and the condo unit below

Much of the county's housing was built before 1980, and a lot of it sits on a concrete slab. Water on a slab has nowhere to drain, so it spreads flat across the house and wicks up into the walls. In the City of Los Angeles the water utility is LADWP. Other cities and unincorporated areas have their own water companies, and your bill shows which one. If you cannot find or turn the house valve, the utility can shut water off at the meter.

A supply line that bursts or a washer hose that fails is sudden damage, and many policies cover it. Gradual leaks often are not. Have the crew log moisture readings and take photos as they go, so the file is ready when the adjuster asks. If the loss started in an upstairs condo unit, tell the crew and notify the HOA in writing the same day. If you see stains overhead, read about ceiling water damage repair. If the water came from a drain or toilet rather than a supply line, it is handled as sewage cleanup.

When you call about standing water on the floor

Have the address ready and know roughly when the water started. Be ready to say which rooms are wet, whether the water is still running, and whether it came from a supply line or from a drain. If the floor is still under water as you dial, say so first. Call (213) 513-2640.