Seattle, WA · 98101 · 98102 · 98103 · 98104 …

Water Damage Restoration in Seattle, WA

Phones answered 24/7 across Seattle. Call for a clear price before any work starts.

Call (833) 490-5225 Free estimate

Phones answered 24/7
Basements, roofs and old pipes
Check the contractor's L&I registration

Get a fast quote

Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.

Seattle, WA

Local service in Seattle

water damage restoration in Seattle

Seattle water damage usually arrives one of three ways: rain through a roof or up through a basement wall between October and March, a failing pipe in a house built before 1960, or a sewage backup from a clogged side sewer. Seattle Water Damage Restoration answers phones 24/7 and sends a technician the same day when one is free.

Seattle sits on the isthmus between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, and the city's own housing tables say roughly half of its homes were built before 1960. Craftsman houses and bungalows from the 1900s to the 1930s are everywhere, and a lot of them stand on sloping lots where the street-side floor is the main level and the downhill side is a daylight basement.

That mix explains most of what we are called for. Water does not pool on a Seattle floor the way it does on a flat slab. It runs downhill, finds the lowest room, and soaks into whatever finished space someone built down there: a rec room, a rental unit, a laundry corner with a freezer next to it.

The pages that follow cover the Seattle-side problems first, then who is responsible for what when the water comes from the sewer. If water is moving right now, shut off the main valve and stay off wet floors near outlets, then call.

How the crew works is the same in every part of the city: find the water, stop what can be stopped, extract, measure, dry. What changes from block to block is where the water has been hiding, and an older Seattle house gives it many places to go.

City: Seattle, WA
County: King County
ZIP codes: 98101, 98102, 98103, 98104, 98105, 98106, 98107, 98108
Hours: Phones answered 24/7

Today in Seattle

Winter atmospheric rivers, long soaking fronts from October to March, saturated slopes decide which water problems are most likely in Seattle from week to week.

Call (833) 490-5225 · See the local season calendar

Why does a hillside Seattle house flood from below?

Winter in Seattle is a long, soft, steady rain rather than a cloudburst. The rainy season runs roughly October to March and delivers about three quarters of the year's rain, so soil on a slope stays saturated for months. Groundwater presses on a basement wall from the uphill side, and once drain tile along the footing clogs or fails, the water has only one place to go: through the wall-to-floor joint.

A daylight basement adds a second route. The downhill wall is above ground and full of windows and doors, and a window well or a patio drain that backs up sends water straight into a finished room. Homeowners policies usually exclude ground-water seepage, which is worth knowing before you make a call.

The crew extracts, pulls baseboard, opens the bottom of the wall to see whether insulation is wet, and sets dehumidifiers. See basement water damage for the full sequence.

Old pipes and the side sewer: who handles what?

Seattle's older core has combined sewers that can surge in heavy rain, and many houses connect through a cast-iron or clay side sewer that has been in the ground for generations. Side sewers belong to the property owner. Seattle Public Utilities crews fix mainline blockages (206-386-1800) but do not enter a home to clean up a sewage backup, so the cleanup is yours to arrange.

Sewage is Category 3 water. Porous material it touched, including carpet, pad and drywall, usually comes out, and Seattle Public Utilities advises removing sewage-soaked wallboard within 24 hours. Our guide on who pays for a sewer backup sorts out the city, the owner and the policy endorsement most homes lack.

Inside the walls, galvanized supply lines from the early decades corrode from the inside and can let go without warning. Read old Seattle house plumbing if your house predates 1960.

Slopes, landslides and what insurance does not cover

About 8.4 percent of Seattle is mapped slide-prone. Most slides are shallow, under roughly six to ten feet, and cluster in winter and early spring, with January the most documented month. The 1996 to 1997 storms triggered more than 300 of them. Water that finds a way into a slope is the usual trigger, which is why a clogged gutter discharging onto a hillside matters.

A slide that pushes mud into a house is not a restoration job first; it is a safety and engineering question. If soil is moving, leave. Once the slope is stable and the building is cleared for entry, we can extract water and dry the structure. Most homeowners policies do not cover landslide, so check yours before you assume.

Landslide and slope water damage covers the warning signs.

Job stories

Typical jobs in Seattle

Typical job

A clogged window well sends rain into a Seattle daylight basement

What homeowners notice: After a week of steady rain, a family in a hillside Craftsman notices a damp smell in the finished lower level and carpet that is cold and soft along one wall. A window well packed with needles and leaves has filled and is spilling through the frame.
What we do: The technician pumps the standing water, lifts the wet pad, cuts the bottom of the paneling back above the wet line, and sets a dehumidifier and air movers in the closed room. The window well is cleared and a drainage contractor is suggested for the downspout nearby.
What to expect: Readings on the slab and framing are logged at each visit until they match a dry wall in the same house, and the photographs go to the homeowner for the insurer.

1 to 2 days typical visit

Typical job

A washer hose bursts in a Seattle condo and wets the unit below

What homeowners notice: A braided hose behind a stacked washer fails while the owner is out, and water runs through the floor into the ceiling of the unit below.
What we do: The technician extracts water in both units with the neighbors' agreement, traces moisture in the floor and ceiling cavities, removes wet drywall and insulation, and runs dehumidifiers in each unit.
What to expect: Both owners receive photographs and moisture logs, and responsibility is left to the association and the insurers.

4 to 5 days typical visit

Popular here

Most requested services in Seattle

Basement Water Damage in Seattle

Daylight basements below sloping lots are the Seattle problem most other cities lack.

Sewage Backup Cleanup in Seattle

Side sewer backups need Category 3 handling and fast removal of soaked wallboard.

Roof Leak Water Damage in Seattle

Moss and clogged gutters in the October to March rains let leaks soak insulation for weeks.

Burst Pipe Water Damage in Seattle

Aged galvanized lines in pre-1960 houses can fail inside walls.

Crawl Space Water Damage in Seattle

Houses over crawl spaces collect winter groundwater under the floor.

Coverage

Where we work in Seattle

Neighborhoods we cover

Craftsman and bungalow streets of the older core
Sloping lots with daylight basements
Neighborhoods along SR 99 and I-5
West of I-5 toward Elliott Bay
Homes near the I-90 and SR 520 approaches

Landmarks and main roads

Elliott Bay
Lake Washington
Puget Sound
Pioneer Square
Alaskan Way
I-5
SR 99
I-90
SR 520

Still stuck? We pick up 24/7.

If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent service in Seattle, send the form and we'll call you back.

Call (833) 490-5225 Get a quote

ZIP check

Confirm coverage for your Seattle address

Seattle ZIP codes we cover: 98101, 98102, 98103, 98104, 98105, 98106, 98107, 98108. Type yours to confirm, or just call.

Everything else

All services available in Seattle

Nearby

Also serving areas near Seattle

Medina

ZIP 98039

Mercer Island

ZIP 98040

Bellevue

ZIP 98004, 98005, 98006, 98007, 98008, 98009…

Kirkland

ZIP 98033, 98034, 98083

FAQ

Seattle FAQs

Does a Seattle basement leak count as a flood on my policy?

Usually not. Ground-water seepage and flood are typically excluded from a standard homeowners policy, and flood needs a separate NFIP or private policy. Read your declarations page or ask your agent before you decide what to claim. Drying is still urgent either way, because wet materials need attention within 24 to 48 hours.

My side sewer backed up. Do I call the city or you?

Call both for different reasons. Seattle Public Utilities fixes mainline blockages, but its crews do not clean sewage inside a house, and the side sewer is yours to repair. Seattle Water Damage Restoration sends a technician for the cleanup and drying once a plumber or the utility has cleared the line.

How old is too old for the plumbing in my Seattle house?

There is no cutoff, but about half of the city's homes predate 1960, and galvanized supply pipe and clay laterals from those decades are common. A leak behind plaster may show only as a stain or a musty smell. A moisture meter finds wet framing that the eye cannot.

Is mold a worry after one wet week?

In a damp climate it can start fast on wet drywall and wood, so drying quickly is the best prevention. Washington has no state mold licence that we found, so ask any mold company for its credentials in writing. Read mold after water damage in Washington.

What should I do in the first hour before the crew gets there?

Shut off the main water valve if a pipe is the source, switch off power to wet rooms only if you can reach the panel on dry ground, and lift furniture legs off wet carpet. Do not use a household vacuum on standing water. Take photographs of the water line and the damaged belongings, then call.