Something Broke. Here’s What You Do.
Water is going places it shouldn’t. That’s going to change.
You called a restoration company — or you’re about to. Either way, help is coming. But right now, standing in your hallway watching water spread across the floor feels like the longest wait of your life.
Here’s what you can do in the next 20 minutes. Nothing complicated. Nothing dangerous. Just the right things, in the right order.
I’m Phil Sheridan. I own 4D Restoration in Edmond, Oklahoma. I’ve talked hundreds of people through this exact situation. Here’s what I’d tell you if I were on the phone with you right now.
Step 1: You and Your Family First
Before you touch anything — before you grab towels, before you start moving furniture — make sure everyone is safe.
Electricity. If water is near outlets, appliances, or your breaker panel, do not wade through it. If you can reach your main breaker safely without stepping in water, turn it off. If you can’t reach it safely, leave it alone and get everyone out of that area.
Gas. If you smell gas, get everyone out of the house immediately. Call Oklahoma Natural Gas at (800) 664-5463 from outside. Do not flip light switches or start your car in the garage.
Structure. If any ceiling is sagging, bulging, or dripping, do not stand under it. Close that door and stay out of that room.
The house can be fixed. You can’t. Get your family — and your pets — to a dry area first.
Step 2: Find the Shutoff
If the water is coming from a plumbing source — burst pipe, failed supply line, appliance leak — find the shutoff and turn it off.
Appliance shutoff: Most appliances (dishwashers, washing machines, toilets, ice makers) have a dedicated shutoff valve right behind or underneath them. Turn the handle clockwise until it stops.
Main water shutoff: Your main water shutoff valve is the most important thing in your house that you’ve never thought about. In most Oklahoma homes, it’s near the water meter at the front of the property, or where the main water line enters the house. Turn it clockwise.
Can’t find it? That’s OK — most people can’t on the first try. Skip to Step 3 and we’ll handle it when we arrive.
If the water is coming from outside — storm flooding, groundwater — you can’t shut it off. That’s our job. Focus on Steps 3 through 5.
Step 3: Take Photos Before You Touch Anything
I know this feels wrong. Water is spreading, and you want to start cleaning up. But take 60 seconds to document what you see.
Photos. Walk the affected area and photograph everything — water lines on walls, saturated flooring, damaged belongings. Get close-ups and wide shots.
Video. A slow pan across the damage tells the story better than any photo. Narrate what you see — your insurance adjuster will use exactly this kind of documentation.
Don’t throw anything away. Even if something looks ruined, leave it until your adjuster has seen it. Once it’s in the trash, you can’t prove it existed.
This documentation protects you. It’s the difference between a smooth insurance claim and a fight.
Step 4: Save What You Can — Safely
Now you can start protecting what’s salvageable.
- Move lightweight items — lamps, books, electronics, shoes, anything you can carry — to a dry room.
- Furniture legs — Slide aluminum foil or small wood blocks under the legs of anything sitting on wet carpet. This prevents staining the carpet and protects the furniture from wicking up moisture.
- Wet rugs — Pick up any area rugs and hang them to dry outside if weather permits. Do NOT pull up tacked-down wall-to-wall carpet. Leave that for us.
- Ventilation — Open windows if the weather is reasonable. Moving air helps. It’s not enough to solve the problem, but it buys you time.
- Towels and mops — Soak up what you can from hard surfaces. Every gallon you remove is one less gallon we have to extract.
Step 5: What NOT to Do
This part matters. Some instincts make things worse.
Don’t use a regular vacuum. Your regular vacuum was not built for this. It was built for Cheerios and dog hair. Water will destroy the motor and could create an electrical hazard. If you have a shop-vac with a wet/dry rating, that’s different — use it.
Don’t rip up carpet. I know it feels productive. But improperly pulled carpet usually can’t be re-stretched and reinstalled. Let a professional assess it first.
Don’t clean black water. If the water is dark, smells foul, or came from a sewage line or external flooding, do not touch it. That water may contain bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants that require specialized PPE and disposal protocols. Get out of that area and wait for us.
Don’t enter rooms with compromised ceilings. A sagging ceiling full of water is heavy and unpredictable. Stay out.
What Happens When We Get There
You’ve done the hard part. The first 20 minutes are chaos, and you handled them.
When we pull up, we’ll have everything we need — extraction equipment, industrial air movers, dehumidifiers, moisture meters, a thermal imaging camera that shows us where the water went that you can’t see.
We’ll do a full walk-through, take readings, and build a damage map. Then we start extracting water and setting up the drying system. It’s fast, it’s loud, and it works.
If you haven’t called your insurance company yet, don’t worry — I can help with that part too. I scope every job in the same software your adjuster uses. Documentation is handled from minute one.
Want to know what the full restoration process looks like, start to finish? I wrote a complete walkthrough: What Actually Happens When You Call a Restoration Company.
You’re Not Helpless. You Already Started.
The fact that you searched for this, found it, and read it means you’re already ahead of where most people are in this situation. You did the right things. Help is on the way.
If you haven’t called yet: 405-896-9088. I answer the phone. I’ll see you soon.
If you need immediate emergency guidance, visit our emergency response page.