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1. 1

   Make sure it is safe to be in the room

   Look for standing water near outlets, power strips or the breaker panel. If you can reach the panel without standing in water, cut power to the affected rooms. If you cannot, leave it alone and stay out. This is the one part of the situation that can kill you.

2. 2

   Find the source and stop it

   For a supply line, an appliance or a water heater, close the main shutoff, usually at the meter, in the garage, or where the supply enters the house. If the water is coming through the roof or in from outside, there is nothing to shut off, so move to the next step.

3. 3

   Photograph everything before you move anything

   Wide shots of each room from the doorway, then close ups of the flooring, the walls, the cabinets and any damaged furniture. Four minutes of photos is worth more than every conversation you will have with your insurer afterward, and once you start moving things the record of where the water reached is gone.

4. 4

   Get what you can out of the water

   Lift rugs off hardwood. Move furniture off wet carpet, or put foil or wood blocks under the legs, because wooden legs bleed stain into carpet within hours. Carry anything paper, electronic or irreplaceable to a dry room. Leave the wet carpet itself alone, and do not run the HVAC.

5. 5

   Request a crew now, not later

   This is the step with a clock on it. Mold begins colonizing wet drywall, carpet backing and framing within about 48 hours at normal indoor temperatures. Before that window closes the job is drying. After it closes the job is remediation, which costs several times more, takes longer, and is the point at which your insurer starts asking why you waited.

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