Water damage restoration in Scranton, PA
In Scranton the water usually ends up in the cellar. About half the houses in the city were built before 1940. With an old foundation and a floor drain down there, a small leak can be a big one by morning.
Get help nowWhat usually happens in a Scranton house
A line freezes
Pipes on an outside wall or in a cold cellar split during a long cold stretch. The Avoca airport averages about 35 days a year that never get above freezing. The leak often shows up when it thaws.
The floor drain backs up
Scranton and Dunmore run on a combined sewer, where storm water and sewage share the same pipes. In a hard rain it can push back up into a cellar. Treat that as sewage, not clean water.
Water comes through the wall
A summer downpour stalls over the valley and water finds a joint in a stone or block foundation, or a window well. The wall can stay wet long after the floor dries.
How the crew dries an older house
- Stop the source. If the break is at the street or the meter, call Pennsylvania American Water's 24-hour line at 1-800-565-7292.
- Pump and extract standing water from the cellar and any finished floors.
- Meter the walls and floors. Plaster dries differently from drywall, and stone holds water, so walls get opened only where the readings say they are wet.
- Run dehumidifiers and air movers until the readings are dry, then pull the equipment.
- Photos and a moisture log, which you can hand to your insurance company.
If sewage was involved, carpet, pad, and anything porous it touched comes out. Mold remediation is a separate job, needed only if the water sat too long.
What drives the price
A clean supply-line leak on a bare concrete cellar floor costs a lot less than sewage from the floor drain, or water through a finished basement with drywall and carpet. The type of water, how far it got, and what has to come out all move the number. Putting walls and floors back is its own estimate. Get it in writing after the crew meters the place, not over the phone.
Insurance
- A pipe that bursts suddenly is often covered by homeowners insurance. A slow leak that ran for weeks often is not.
- A sewer or drain backup is often excluded unless your policy has a backup endorsement.
- Rising water, such as the Lackawanna or Roaring Brook coming over the banks, usually needs a separate flood policy.
- Foundation damage from old mine workings is usually excluded from homeowners policies. Pennsylvania DEP runs a separate Mine Subsidence Insurance program.
The crew documents the damage. What gets paid is between you and your insurance company.
Neighborhoods and nearby towns
Scranton, including Green Ridge, the Hill Section, the West Side, South Side and the Flats, North Scranton, and Minooka. Also Dunmore, Taylor, Old Forge, Moosic, and Clarks Summit when the crew's schedule allows.
Send the details
This page is a request form, not a restoration contractor.
Questions
How fast does a wet cellar need attention?
The same day. Wet drywall, carpet, and wood can start growing mold within 24 to 48 hours, and a damp stone cellar keeps the air wet for a long time after the floor looks dry.
Can I just run a shop vac and a fan?
For a little clean water on a bare concrete floor, maybe. For a finished basement, water inside the walls, or anything that came up a floor drain, no. That needs extraction, a dehumidifier, and meter readings to show when it is actually dry.
Does homeowners insurance cover a sewer backup?
Often not, unless your policy has a water or sewer backup endorsement. Check your policy or ask your agent before you assume either way.
Who does the work?
An independent water damage restoration company from the area. Not this website.