Homeowner photographing a large water stain spreading across a living room ceiling

Emergency Water Removal When the Water Is Still Coming

A burst supply line, an overflowing washer, a ceiling that will not stop dripping. Call any hour and you are put through to an independent local company that can send a crew with extraction and drying equipment.

Call (844) 906-3984 How It Works

Emergency water removal is about the next few hours

When water is actively moving through a home, the damage grows by the hour. It runs under baseboards and cabinet toe kicks, wicks up drywall, and in a South Florida slab home it can spread under tile and floating floors where nobody sees it. Emergency water removal is the first part of a restoration job: stop what can be stopped, pull the standing water out, and get drying equipment running the same visit.

Dominion Water Damage does not send a crew. It is the free number you call so you do not have to search for one while your floor is wet. The automated assistant asks what happened and whether water is still coming in, then transfers you to an independent, locally owned company that does emergency extraction in your area. If that company cannot pick up, your name, number, city and the problem are passed along so it can call you back.

Water pooled across the tile floor in front of white kitchen cabinets after a leak

Before you do anything else

If anyone is hurt or in danger, call 911 first.
Stay out of standing water that may touch outlets, cords or appliances. Do not try to fix anything electrical.
If it is safe to reach, shut off the main water valve to stop a leak.
Stay out of floodwater; it can carry sewage and debris.

The first hour, in order

1. Make the house safe

Keep everyone out of rooms where water could reach outlets, power strips or appliances. If you smell gas or anyone is hurt, leave and call 911.

2. Stop the water

Close the shutoff under the sink or toilet, or the main water valve if you can reach it from somewhere dry. In a condo, the building may have a shutoff only staff can reach, so call the manager.

3. Photograph before anything moves

Wide shots of each room, close-ups of the source, the ceiling and the waterline on walls. Your insurer and the company will both want them.

4. Call the line

Say whether the water is clean (a supply line), gray (a washer or dishwasher) or dirty (a toilet, sewer or outside water). That tells the company what equipment and protection to bring.

What the restoration crew does on site

A typical emergency visit from a restoration company follows a pattern, though every company sets its own process and prices.

Extraction. Truck-mounted or portable extractors pull water out of carpet and pad, and squeegees and wet vacuums clear hard floors.
Moisture mapping. Meters and probes show where the water went, including under tile and behind walls, so drying covers the whole wet area and not just the visible stain.
Removing what cannot be saved. Soaked carpet pad, swollen baseboards and sometimes the bottom of the drywall come out so the wall cavity can dry.
Setting the drying equipment. Dehumidifiers and air movers run for days, and the crew returns to take readings and move equipment.
A written scope. What was done, what is still wet, and what the rebuild will look like.

HomeAdvisor's 2026 guide says a water-damaged home can take around five days to dry, with full restoration taking weeks or longer when rebuilding is needed. Plan for the equipment to stay a while.

Wet carpet pulled back from the corner of a living room so the pad and floor underneath can dry

Why emergencies in South Florida homes look different

Slab and tile

The water table sits close to the surface in South Florida, so basements are rare and many homes are built on a concrete slab. Water on a slab floor spreads sideways, and tile can look dry on top while the layers underneath are still wet.

Stacked units

In a mid-rise or high-rise, water from one unit travels down through ceilings, walls and light fixtures. Several units can need extraction from one failed line.

Air that does not dry

Outdoor air in the wet season is warm and humid, so opening windows rarely helps. The EPA suggests keeping indoor humidity between 30 and 60 percent; dehumidifiers do that work.

Questions to ask the company on the call

When can a crew arrive, and what should I do until then?
How do you charge for emergency service, after-hours visits and equipment by the day?
Will I get a written, itemized estimate before work goes beyond the emergency steps?
How will you measure and record moisture, and will I get copies of the readings and photos?
Do you carry insurance, and can I see proof? If mold turns up, who will handle it?

Florida Statute 489.147 bars a contractor from giving an insured a repair agreement for work under a property insurance claim without a good faith, itemized and detailed estimate, and from advising you on your coverage unless it is also a licensed public adjuster. Claim questions belong with your insurer.

Gloved hand turning the main water shutoff valve in a box set in the lawn

About this line: Dominion Water Damage is a free phone line, not a restoration company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local water damage restoration company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. You never pay the line. See how the line works.

Common questions

Who do I call for emergency water damage in Miami?

Call (844) 906-3984 any hour. The automated assistant asks whether water is still coming in and transfers you to an independent, locally owned restoration company that serves your area. That company decides how fast it can get there and what it will charge, and tells you on the call.

How quickly does someone come out?

That depends on the company, the hour and how many calls it has, especially after a storm. The line cannot promise an arrival time. Ask the company on the call when it can arrive and what you should do until then.

Should I turn off the power?

Do not walk into standing water to reach a breaker panel, and do not touch cords or appliances in water. If water may be near outlets, stay out of that room and tell the company and your electric utility. The safe step you can usually take is shutting off the main water valve if you can reach it from a dry spot.

The water is coming from the condo above me. What do I do?

Tell the owner or tenant above and the association or building manager right away so the source can be shut off, then take photos of your ceiling and floors. Florida's condo law splits repair responsibility between the association and owners, so keep copies of everything you report. A restoration company can still start extraction in your unit.

Can I just mop it up myself?

A small spill of clean water caught right away can often be wiped up. Water that has run under cabinets, baseboards, tile or laminate, or soaked into carpet, usually needs a company with meters and drying equipment, because the EPA says wet materials should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold.

Water still coming in? Call now

The line is answered around the clock. Say where the water is coming from and whether you have shut it off, and the call is transferred to an independent local restoration company. You pay that company, never the line.

Call (844) 906-3984

Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by an automated assistant, in English or Spanish
Free to call. You never pay the line.
The company you are connected with inspects, quotes, does the work and is paid by you or your insurer, as you arrange.