What to do after an escape of water at home

Turn off the water at the stopcock first. Everything else can wait a minute.

  1. Turn off the water at the stopcock.
  2. Turn off electricity at the consumer unit if water is near sockets or wiring.
  3. Do not throw anything away, we may need to inspect damaged items.
  4. Photograph the source of the leak and all affected rooms before you start clearing up.
  5. Take reasonable steps to prevent further damage, for example moving furniture and lifting soft furnishings.
  6. Call an approved restoration contractor from our network.
  7. Report the claim with your policy number and the date you discovered the leak.

Why we ask you to keep things

Damaged items are evidence. An assessor can often approve a replacement in one pass if the item is still there to look at, and cannot if it went in a skip on the first afternoon.

Drying and restoration

Escape of water claims are usually settled faster when a restoration contractor gets in early, because drying time drives everything that follows. Castlefield Restoration covers the North West for water damage, drying and flood restoration and is currently approved.