Water damage cleanup in NYC: the room and everything in it

NYC Water Damage Repair is an independent referral service, not a restoration company. When you send the form, your details go to an independent local restoration provider serving New York City, who can contact you, inspect and quote any work directly. You decide whether to hire them.

First: what kind of water was it?

The restoration standard, the IICRC S500, sorts water into three categories by contamination, judging both where it came from and what it touched. Category 3 is grossly contaminated water and includes sewage and wasteline backflows. The S500 notes that time and temperature can make contamination worse, so water that has sat is not the same as water caught at once.

That decides who should do the cleanup. A small amount of water from a clean supply pipe is often something you can start on yourself. Water from a toilet, a drain or a sewer is not: EPA says that if the damage was caused by sewage or other contaminated water, call in a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by contaminated water. For Category 2 or 3 water, the S500 says remediation should come before drying, with contamination controls and worker protection.

Photograph before you clean

• Wide shots of each wet room, then close-ups of the damage.
• Every damaged item before it is moved or thrown out, with anything that shows the brand or model.
• The source, if you can see it: the pipe, the fixture, the stain spreading from above.
• The water line on walls or furniture, if there is one.

What can usually be saved, and what usually cannot

In general practice, after a leak of clean water that is dealt with quickly:

Item	Often saved	Often discarded
Hard furniture: wood, metal, plastic	Wiped, dried, refinished if needed	Veneered particleboard that swelled
Upholstered furniture and mattresses	A small clean-water wetting, dried fast	Anything soaked, or wet with dirty water
Area rugs and carpet	Professionally cleaned and dried after clean water	Carpet pad; anything wet with sewage
Clothes and linens	Washed and dried promptly	Items that already smell of mildew and do not wash clean
Books and paper	Important papers, frozen or dried flat	Swollen paperbacks, boxes, magazines
Electronics	Only after a qualified check	Anything that was underwater while plugged in

Anything wet with sewage, or that cannot be dried quickly, belongs in the right-hand column. Standing water and wet materials can become a breeding ground for viruses, bacteria and mold.

Cleaning safely

• Wear waterproof gloves, and keep children and pets out of the room.
• Do not mix cleaning products or add bleach to other chemicals. EPA warns against it.
• EPA says bleach and other biocides are not recommended as a routine practice in mold cleanup: soap and water on hard surfaces, then complete drying, is the usual approach.
• Never run a fuel-powered generator indoors or in any enclosed space. EPA says it belongs outside, at least 20 feet from the building.
• Keep electrics off in wet areas until they have been checked.

Then dry the room itself

Cleanup is not finished when the belongings are sorted. The floor, the bottom of the walls and the cabinets have to dry too, and EPA’s guidance is to dry water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. Open cabinets and closets, lift what you can, and have the walls and floors read with a moisture meter. The page about water damage restoration in NYC explains drying equipment and readings, and wet drywall and floors covers what can stay. If water is still standing, start with emergency water removal.

Questions people ask