Contact Fountain City Water Restoration

What's safe to do before the crew shows up in Fountain City?

Before the crew gets there, your job is to keep people safe and keep the water from spreading, and the list below shows what's worth doing on your own.

• Stay out of standing water that's touching outlets or extension cords, and keep kids and pets out of that room.
• Shut off the water at the main valve if you can't find the source fast. Basement homes usually have it near the water meter where the service line enters.
• Homes near the Whitewater River can take on surface water or groundwater after long rains. Note where it's coming in, like a window well or the joint at the base of a wall, so you can show the crew.
• A floor drain that's pushing water up is a sign the sewer line is backing up. Keep that area closed off and avoid flushing toilets.
• After a hard freeze, check exterior walls and the garage for wet spots before you turn the water back on.
• Hang up wet rugs or clothing somewhere they can drip, and open interior doors so air can move through the wet area.
• According to the EPA's guide to mold and moisture, drying water damaged materials within 24 to 48 hours helps prevent mold, which is why the call shouldn't wait until morning.
• Check your own policy before you decide whether to file. The Indiana Department of Insurance claim tips explain what to do before an adjuster visits.

What does the person who answers need to know?

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

• Whether you were able to close the main valve.
• Whether it's clean water from a supply line or water that came up from a drain.
• How deep the water is in the basement and whether it has reached the furnace or water heater.
• About how long the water has been sitting.
• Whether you've called your insurance company yet, and either answer is fine.
• If there's a dog or other pet the crew should know about.
• If the furnace or water heater got wet.

If you don't know some of these answers, say so and the crew will check them when they get to the house.

What does the first visit look like?

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

Every wet area gets a reading and a photo, and that record becomes your 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.

We document the damage with a photo report and walk you through what we found, so you can decide with your insurance company.

If you go ahead, the crew removes standing water, sets up drying equipment and checks the readings on return visits until the wet materials are dry.

Why do the age and layout of your Fountain City home matter on the call?

The mix in Fountain City includes Italianate, Queen Anne, bungalow and two story homes. With basements common here, water from a leak upstairs often ends up downstairs too. Outside water from a storm calls for a different plan than a burst pipe, so let us know which one you're dealing with. Galvanized steel supply pipes, which rust from the inside, are still around in older houses here. Tell the person who answers what you know, and the crew will take it from there.

Is your neighborhood in the Fountain City service area?

This number covers Fountain City and its neighborhoods, including these:

• Historic Fountain City · much of it from the 1840s to 1900s, most with basements
• West Main Street Residential District · built mostly in the 1910s to 1950s, most with basements
• Hampton Drive Area · many with finished basements
• Franklin Township Line Road Rural Fringe · much of it from the 2000s to 2010s, basements are common
• Northeastern School District Neighborhood · much of it from the 1950s to 1970s, most with basements

Calls from Centerville and Hagerstown come to us too. If your address is farther out, call the same number and the team will let you know whether a crew can make the trip. For details on the work itself, see our page on water damage restoration and basement flooding.

What should you know before you call?