What to do in the first 24 hours after a roof leak
The decisions you make in the first day after a leak decide whether you're paying for drywall or for joists. Here's the playbook our restoration crews use.
Water doesn't wait. The moment you see staining on a ceiling, a drip in a hallway, or a wet patch on a top-floor wall, the clock is running. Mold colonies can establish in 24 to 48 hours, and once they're in the cavity, the remediation bill jumps from drywall and paint to full demolition of the assembly.
Step one is always safety. Kill power to any circuit feeding the affected area. If the ceiling is bowing or sagging, do not stand under it. A bulge that size is holding gallons.
Step two is containment. Pull furniture out, lay down plastic, and poke a small hole with a screwdriver at the lowest point of the bulge so the water drains into a bucket instead of bringing the whole ceiling down at once. Counter-intuitive, but it works.
Step three is documentation. Before anything gets cleaned up, photograph everything from multiple angles. Your insurance adjuster will want timestamps. We've seen claims doubled because the homeowner remembered to grab a wide shot of the room before the cleanup started.
Step four is the call. True Blue handles disaster response for property managers and building owners, and we mobilize a crew fast. We bring tarps, dehumidifiers, moisture meters, and the paperwork to start an insurance claim same-day.
