The ceiling is dripping, or the wall is hissing, or there is a sheet of water spreading from the laundry room toward the hallway carpet. You do not need a plan, you need the next move. Read the first row of the table below and start there. The rest can wait until your hands are dry.
Our line is answered 24/7, so you can call from the driveway while you work. If anyone is in danger or water is touching electrical equipment, call 911 or the utility before you dial a restoration crew.
The first 30 minutes, minute by minute
| When | Action | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes 0 to 3 | Close the main water valve for the house. Turn it clockwise until it stops. | Every gallon that keeps flowing becomes something to extract and dry later. |
| Minutes 3 to 6 | Look at the floor around outlets, appliances and the panel. Stay out of any room where water reaches a plug or a cord. | Water and live circuits are the one danger that is not about property. |
| Minutes 6 to 10 | Open the lowest faucet and the highest faucet, then flush each toilet once. Switch off the water heater if you can reach it safely. | This drains the lines and stops pressure from pushing leftover water out of the break. |
| Minutes 10 to 18 | Lift small furniture, rugs, electronics, books and boxes out of the water. Pull up area rugs that sit on wet floors. | Wood furniture legs stain and swell in a matter of hours when they stand in water. |
| Minutes 18 to 25 | Photograph and video the break, each wet room and every damaged item before you move or discard anything. | These pictures start your claim file and show the crew where the water traveled. |
| Minutes 25 to 30 | Call a restoration crew, then your insurer or agent. Note the time of each call. | Drying equipment can start before the structure soaks up more water. |
Finding and testing the main valve
Many homeowners reach for the valve for the first time during the emergency, and that is when it is stuck, buried behind boxes or a type they have never used. Gate valves with a round wheel often seize when they have not turned in years. Lever-style ball valves usually work easily, a quarter turn closes them.
Do not wait for a burst to find out. Walk the house this week, find the valve and turn it off and on once. If it will not move, a plumber can replace it, and doing that on a calm afternoon costs far less in damage than doing it with water on the floor. Put a bright tag on the valve so anyone in the house can find it.
If the water will not stop
Sometimes closing the house valve does not end it. The pipe may be on the street side of the valve, or the valve may be stuck. Check the water meter at the front of the property, usually in a small box near the curb. With every tap, toilet and sprinkler off, a moving leak indicator on the meter means water is still flowing somewhere.
If it still moves after your house valve is shut, the leak may be between the meter and the house, or on the city side of the meter. That is a call to the utility, not a plumber. For dripping through a ceiling, stay out from under a bulging spot. Water can be holding the drywall up, and it comes down all at once.
Never step into standing water near power
Cut the breaker only if you can reach the panel without crossing wet floor and your hands and feet are dry. If you cannot, leave it, get everyone out of the room and call 911 or the utility before the restoration line.
What the water becomes if it sits
A fresh supply-line break starts as clean water. It does not stay that way. It picks up dust, adhesive and soil from under the flooring, and the longer it sits the more it behaves like contaminated water. That is why the first hour is about speed and why wet carpet padding and soft drywall are often pulled even after a short event.
Extraction units pull standing water off the floor. Moisture meters and a thermal imaging camera then trace where it went inside walls and under flooring. Air movers and LGR dehumidifiers dry the rest under the ANSI/IICRC S500 standard. Our emergency water removal page covers the extraction side.
What to do while you wait for the crew
- Open interior doors and cabinet doors so air can circulate, and move wet items away from walls.
- Put aluminum foil or plastic blocks under furniture legs that must stay on wet carpet.
- Write down the time the pipe broke, when the valve was closed and each call you make.
Once the water is off, the question is how far it went. A water mitigation visit answers it with meter readings in each room, and you hear the scope and the price before crews start. If your home is in Chatsworth or Calabasas, the same line covers you.
City-side breaks, meter checks and insurance records in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says to shut off all water indoors and outdoors before checking your meter, and that movement on the meter's leak detection gauge with everything off means a leak. It asks you to report water main breaks at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397), a line that is answered 24/7. For you, a break in the street or at the meter is the utility's problem, so call that number rather than hiring a plumber for it.
We found no LADWP guidance on where a home's main shutoff valve is or how to operate it. That is the reason to locate and test your own valve before an emergency, not during one.
The California Department of Insurance advises making temporary repairs to limit further damage, keeping receipts and keeping a claim diary, and it cautions against permanent repairs until the adjuster has seen the loss. In practice: stop the water, dry the structure, save every receipt, and wait on new drywall or flooring until your insurer has looked.
Source: LADWP leak detection and water main break pages, California Department of Insurance claims guidance
After the first half hour
While you wait, write a short list of every wet room and item. A phone video that walks room by room and names what got wet works well. Hold on to damaged items until your adjuster weighs in, and describe the spread clearly when you call (818) 337-2642.
Questions about a burst pipe
Who do I call in West Hills if the water main in the street breaks?
Call the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power at 1-800-DIAL-DWP (1-800-342-5397), which is answered 24/7 for water main breaks and power outages. If water is flooding a roadway or anyone is in danger, call 911. A break on the street side of your meter is the utility's, so a plumber or restoration crew cannot fix it, but a crew can dry the damage it causes inside your home.
Should I turn off the electricity after a pipe bursts?
Only if you can reach the breaker panel while standing on dry ground with dry hands. If water is near the panel, outlets or appliances, stay out of the room and call 911 or the utility first. Never walk through standing water to reach a switch, because that is the situation that hurts people.
Why open the taps after I close the main valve?
Closing the main stops new water but the pipes still hold water under pressure. Opening the lowest and highest faucets lets gravity drain the lines so less leaks from the break. It also releases air pressure. Close the taps again when the lines are empty.
Can I start fixing the pipe before the insurance adjuster arrives?
You can make temporary repairs to stop further damage and keep every receipt. The state insurance department cautions against permanent repairs until the adjuster sees the loss. Photograph the broken section and keep it if the plumber removes it. Read your policy's water damage terms and call your insurer early.
How long does a house take to dry after a burst pipe?
It depends on how much water there was, which materials got wet and whether walls and floors were opened. Industry estimates run from a few days for a small clean-water event to a couple of weeks for deep saturation. Moisture meter readings, not the calendar, decide when drying is done.
Do you handle burst pipe emergencies at night in West Hills?
Yes. Calls are answered around the clock, nights, weekends and holidays included, with same-day response when available. Call (818) 337-2642, say where the water is and whether the main valve is closed, and the dispatcher will coach you on the next steps until a crew arrives.