Contact Windermere Water Restoration

What should you do first when water gets into your house in Windermere?

Start by making the area safe, then cut off the water at the closest valve you can reach. You don't need to clean anything up before you call.

• Treat electricity as the first hazard, and don't walk into a flooded room while the lights or appliances in it are still on.
• If the water heater is leaking, close the cold water valve on top of the tank. For a burst pipe, go straight to the main shutoff in the basement.
• A pipe that burst in the cold can keep leaking as it thaws. Close the main valve first, then open a faucet to drain the line.
• Don't wade through water that came up through a drain. Close the door to that area and wait for the crew.
• If water is coming in from outside after heavy rain near Geist Reservoir and Fall Creek, move valuables to a higher floor and stay out of moving water.
• Lift furniture onto blocks or move it to a dry room if you can do it safely, and leave heavy pieces for the crew.
• The EPA's mold and moisture guide says water damaged areas and items should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, so it's worth calling as soon as the water is under control.
• Hold off on permanent repairs until you've read your policy. The claim tips from the Indiana Department of Insurance explain why.

What questions come up on the first call?

The first call takes a few minutes, and most of it is about where the water came from and how far it spread.

• Which fixture or pipe is leaking, or that you can't tell yet.
• Whether the water came from inside the house or from outside.
• Whether the basement walls are wet or just the floor.
• About how long the water has been sitting.
• Roughly when the house was built. Much of Windermere went up in the 1990s, and the age points the crew toward likely trouble spots.
• If the water came from the unit above or next door, so we know whose plumbing to look at.
• Whether you were able to reach the breaker panel.

It's fine to guess on any of these, and the crew will confirm the details on site.

What happens on site after you call?

The visit opens with the source and safety, since drying can't start while water is still coming in.

Before anything is moved or removed, the crew documents the damage with photos and moisture readings for the photo report.

Our water restoration manager is IICRC certified. The IICRC is the standards body behind S500, its standard for professional water damage restoration, now in its Fifth Edition from 2021.

You'll see the photo report and the readings, and the crew will explain what they found so you can decide with your insurance company.

When you're ready to start, they pull out the standing water and set up air movers and dehumidifiers. Return visits track the readings until everything is back to dry.

Which details about Windermere homes help the crew plan?

Much of Windermere went up in the 1990s, so water heaters and washer hoses are the usual places a leak starts. The mix in Windermere includes two story homes. Basement homes take on water from more directions, so tell us whether it's coming through a wall or from a pipe. Heavy rain raises groundwater here, and that can push water through basement floors and walls. Cold snaps split pipes in exterior walls and unheated spaces, and the leak often shows up when the pipe thaws. Tell the person who answers what you know, and the crew will take it from there.

What parts of Windermere and nearby towns do we cover?

You can reach the crew from anywhere in Windermere, including these neighborhoods:

• Woods Edge at Windermere · built mostly in the 1990s, most with basements
• Crosswinds at Windermere · homes from the 1990s
• Heritage Green at Windermere · much of it from the 1990s, basements are common
• Lakeside Green at Windermere · built mostly in the 1990s, most with basements
• Windermere Villas · most with basements
• The Woodlands at Windermere · much of it from the 1990s, most with basements

If you're just outside Windermere, in Stonewater, Geist, Lake Stonebridge, Spyglass Falls, Hawthorns, Bridgewater, Sand Creek Woods and Sagamore, this is still the number to call. For addresses near the edge of the service area, call and the team will check whether a crew can get there. The service pages cover each job in more detail, starting with water damage restoration and basement flooding.

What should you know before you call?