The First Hour After a Water Leak: A GTA Homeowner's Checklist

Water in your home is stressful. This checklist is written to be read with wet socks on. Keep it on your phone, or print it and tape it inside the utility room door. Anyone is welcome to share or link to it.

Minute 0–5: Stay safe

1. Stay out of standing water near outlets, power bars, or the electrical panel. If water has reached the panel, don't touch it — call Toronto Hydro, Alectra or your local utility.
2. Don't stand under a sagging ceiling. A ceiling bulging with water can come down suddenly. Poke a small hole at the lowest point with a screwdriver, with a bucket underneath, only if you can do it safely.
3. If it smells like sewage, keep children and pets away. Sewage is Category 3 water and carries pathogens.

Minute 5–10: Stop the water

1. Find your main shut-off. In most GTA homes it's in the basement, near where the water line comes through the foundation wall, beside the water meter. Turn it clockwise until it stops.
2. For a single fixture (toilet, sink, dishwasher), close the small valve under or behind it.
3. Water heater leaking? Close the cold-water inlet on top and turn the heater off (gas to "pilot", or breaker off for electric).
4. Condo? Call building security or the concierge — they can shut off risers and warn units below.

Minute 10–20: Document before you move things

• Take wide photos of each room, then close-ups of damage. Video walking through is even better.
• Photograph the source (the burst pipe, the failed hose, the floor drain).
• Note the time you discovered it. Insurers ask.

Minute 20–40: Limit the damage

• Move furniture, electronics and boxes off wet floors. Put foil or plastic under furniture legs you can't move.
• Lift curtains and floor-length fabrics off the floor.
• If the water is clean and it's safe, open windows (in dry weather) and run fans.
• Don't use a household vacuum on water. Don't turn the furnace up to "dry things out" — heat without dehumidification can spread moisture and encourage mould.

Minute 40–60: Make the calls

1. A restoration company. Drying within the first 24–48 hours is what keeps a water leak from becoming a mould problem.
2. Your insurer or broker. Many policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage — calling a restoration company counts.
3. A plumber, if the source needs repair.
4. Your landlord or property manager, if you rent or live in a condo.

What not to throw out

Keep damaged items (or at least photos and a list) until your adjuster says otherwise. Receipts for anything you buy in the emergency — fans, tarps, a hotel night — are usually part of your claim.

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