Washing Machine Leak Water Damage Repair in San Diego

1. Shut both supply valves behind the washer, hot and cold, by turning them clockwise. Some laundry boxes have one lever that closes both. If you can't reach them safely, close the main water valve.
2. Turn off the power. Unplug the washer or flip its breaker, but only if the floor around the outlet is dry. Leave a gas dryer's gas line alone.
3. Don't run another load. Leave the failed hose or connector in place for the plumber and adjuster, and photograph it.
4. Check below. If the laundry is upstairs or in a condo, look at the ceiling underneath it and tell your neighbor and the HOA or building manager.
5. Pick up the water with towels or a wet vacuum, and move baskets, rugs and boxes out of the wet area.
6. Take photos of every wet area, then call us.

A supply hose is under full house water pressure. When it fails, water keeps flowing until someone shuts the valve. A drain leak stops when the cycle ends, but a supply leak doesn't, and these failures often happen when nobody's home. With the laundry upstairs, the water goes through the floor first. It soaks the subfloor, runs along the joists and lands on the ceiling drywall and insulation below. In the alcove, it wicks into the bottom of the walls and then spreads under the hallway carpet and into nearby closets. Supply water starts out clean (IICRC Category 1), but it doesn't stay clean once it sits in building materials.

1. Inspection. We use moisture meters and a thermal camera on the laundry floor, the walls around it, the hallway and the ceiling below.
2. Extraction. We pull standing water out of the floor, carpet and pad.
3. We remove only what can't be dried. We open only the ceiling and wall sections that read wet and pull out soaked insulation, working inside containment with a zipper door.
4. Drying to IICRC S500. We take readings at every visit until the materials match the dry standard.
5. Mold check. We HEPA-vacuum and inspect the open cavities. Any growth comes out under containment following IICRC S520.
6. Repairs. As a licensed contractor, we handle the insulation, drywall, texture and paint. If flooring needs replacing, we coordinate it with an installer.

A hose or connector that bursts suddenly is the kind of loss that's often covered. A slow drip from a worn fitting may not be. Your policy decides. If water reached a neighbor's unit, more than one policy may be involved. We document each area and bill the claim directly. Read more: Does homeowners insurance cover water damage in California?

• University City washer leak: a failed washing machine connector in the unit upstairs soaked three ceilings in the condo below. We opened only the wet sections, had them dry in 3 days and then completed the repairs.