Contact Princes Lakes Water Restoration

How do you keep water damage from spreading before help arrives?

Start with safety and the water supply, and call us while you work down this list.

• 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.
• Older sewer lines can back up during heavy rain. If that's what you're seeing, keep everyone out of the water and stop using the plumbing until the crew arrives.
• Check the sump pump's breaker if the pit is overflowing, and if you have a battery backup, make sure it kicked on.
• If water is coming in from outside after a storm, stay out of moving water and keep track of where it's entering so you can show the crew.
• Get papers and keepsakes off the floor and into a dry room first, since those are the hardest things to replace.
• 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 questions come up on the first call?

The person who answers will ask a few quick questions so the crew shows up with the right equipment.

• Whether you were able to close the main valve.
• Whether neighbors on your street are seeing the same backup, which can point to the public sewer.
• How much of the lower level is finished space.
• When it started, even if it's a guess.
• The age of the house, if you know it. Homes in Princes Lakes date mostly from the 1940s, and the decade tells the crew what kind of pipes to expect.
• If there's a dog or other pet the crew should know about.
• If any outlets or appliances are in the water.

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

What will the crew do first when they arrive?

First they confirm the water is off and the area is safe to work in. If the source is still a mystery, finding it comes before anything else.

With the source stopped, they use moisture meters to find where the water spread inside walls and under floors, and the crew photographs each area for the photo report.

Our water restoration manager is IICRC certified. The IICRC publishes the S500 standard for water damage restoration and the S520 standard for mold remediation.

Before any tear out, the crew walks you through what they found, room by room, so you can decide with your insurance company how you want to move forward.

If the water came from a drain, the crew treats it as contaminated, which means cleaning the area and removing materials that can't be cleaned.

Once you give the go ahead, extraction and drying start. The crew comes back to check the readings and moves equipment as areas dry out.

Why do the age and layout of your Princes Lakes home matter on the call?

A lot of Princes Lakes was built in the 1940s, when galvanized steel and early copper were common for supply lines. Typical houses here are ranch and cottage homes. Lots of homes here have finished lower levels, and water that soaks into carpet pad and drywall takes more than a fan to dry. Clay and cast iron drain lines in older houses corrode or let roots in over time, which can lead to backups. Some parts of Princes Lakes sit low or near water, and outside water after a storm is handled differently from a plumbing leak. Share what you know about the house on the call, even if it's a rough guess.

Does this page cover your part of Princes Lakes?

Homeowners in these parts of Princes Lakes use this page:

• Prince's East Lake · much of it from the 1940s to 1980s, many with finished basements
• Prince's White Lake · most with basements
• Prince's North Lake · basements are common
• Prince's Northeast Lake · many with finished basements
• Hants Lake
• Carolyn Lake

Calls from nearby Trafalgar, Edinburgh, Nashville, Bargersville, Whiteland, New Whiteland and Smokey Row reach the same team. If your address is farther out, call the same number and the team will let you know whether a crew can make the trip. You can read more about water damage restoration in Princes Lakes and basement flooding.

What do Princes Lakes homeowners ask before they call?