Water damage in an Orlando home is one of the most common emergencies here, and what you do in the first hour decides how much of your home and belongings you save. Work through these steps in order. The goal is to stay safe, stop more water from coming in, protect what you can, and get help started before the humidity turns it into mold.
1. Stay safe first
Water and electricity are the real danger. If you can reach the breaker safely and dry, cut power to the affected area. If water is near the electrical panel or you would have to stand in water to reach it, do not, and stay clear until the power is off. If the water came up through a floor drain or toilet, treat it as a sewer backup and a health hazard. If it came from a storm, treat it as contaminated floodwater. Keep kids and pets away and avoid skin contact with contaminated water.
After a storm, watch for downed power lines and never enter standing water near electrical service.
2. Stop the source if you can
If the water is from a burst or leaking pipe, shut off your main water valve, usually near where the line enters the house or at the meter. Knowing where that valve is before an emergency saves a lot of damage. If it is a sewer backup, stop running water in the house, no flushing, no laundry, no sinks, since every gallon adds to the backup. If it is a roof leak in a storm, put a bucket under the drip and, if it is safe, move belongings clear; the roof itself gets handled once the storm passes. If it is storm flooding, there may be no valve to close, and the priority shifts to safety and then extraction.
3. Document everything for your claim
Before you move or remove anything, photograph and video the water and the damage from several angles, including the source if you can see it. Note the date, the weather, and what happened. Keep receipts for anything you buy or pay for during the emergency. This documentation is exactly what your insurer and adjuster need, and it protects you whether the loss is a covered burst pipe, a roof leak, a sewer backup under an endorsement, or a flood claim. Do not throw out damaged items until they are documented.
4. Protect what you can
Once you are safe and the source is stopped, move furniture, electronics, and valuables to a dry area, and lift what you can off the wet floor. Pull up area rugs off wet flooring. Put aluminum foil or wood blocks under furniture legs to stop staining on wet carpet. Open interior doors to help air move, but in Orlando do not open exterior windows to humid outdoor air, since that adds moisture rather than removing it. Do not use a household vacuum on standing water.
5. Call for extraction before mold starts
This is the step that matters most in Central Florida, because mold can start within 24 to 48 hours in the humidity. The faster extraction and drying begin, the more of your home survives and the lower the final cost. When you call, describe how much water there is, where it came from, and whether it is clean or contaminated, so a local crew arrives with the right equipment. Help is available day or night. See our emergency extraction page for what happens next, and our cost guide for pricing.