Stop the water safely
Electricity first, then the water. Here’s the order.
- Don’t touch a washer that’s standing in water. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warns not to touch wet appliances that are still plugged in. If the floor around the washer is wet, or the outlet behind it might be, switch off the breaker for the laundry area or the main breaker. Do that only from a dry spot. The CDC says that if you’d have to stand in water to reach the panel, call an electrician.
- Stop the machine. Once the power is off, or if you’re on dry floor and the washer is still running, end the cycle so it doesn’t pump or fill again. Don’t start another cycle to drain the tub. If the drain is part of the problem, that just adds more water.
- Close the supply valves behind the washer. Most washers connect to a hot valve and a cold valve in a box set into the wall behind the machine. Some have a single lever that closes both. Turn them by hand: the Smart Home Water Guide, from the City of Phoenix and other Valley water providers, warns that old or corroded shut-off valves can break. If they won’t close, or water keeps coming, close the main shut-off for the house. Our shut-off valve guide shows where that usually is.
- Take photos and video of the washer, the hose or valve that failed, the drain, and every wet area. Arizona’s Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions advises taking pictures before any plumber or restoration contractor shows up.
- Start on the water you can reach. Wear rubber gloves, since laundry water isn’t clean. Mop or towel up what’s on hard floors, and move rugs, baskets, boxes and anything stored on the floor.
Where the water came from, and why it matters
How the water got out decides what kind of water it is, and that affects the cleanup.
A supply hose or valve
The hoses behind the washer carry water from the valves to the machine, and they’re under pressure whether or not the washer is running. When one splits or a fitting lets go, water keeps coming until someone closes the valve. This is clean water at the source.
An overflow during a cycle
Water that spills from the tub, a leaking door seal or a drain hose that slipped out of the drain pipe has already been in the machine with dirty laundry and detergent.
A drain that backed up
Washers pump their water into a drain pipe behind the machine, called a standpipe, or into a laundry sink. If that drain is clogged, water comes back up and spills over. If other drains in the house gurgled or backed up at the same time, the clog may be farther down the line. The restoration industry’s IICRC standard lists “wasteline backflows that originate from beyond any trap regardless of visible content or color” among its examples of grossly contaminated water. That’s a different job: see sewage backup cleanup.
Clean water or gray water
The IICRC S500 standard sorts water into categories by contamination. People often shorten them to clean, gray and black water.
An older Northern Arizona University water damage guideline, which paraphrases an earlier edition of that standard, gives broken domestic supply lines as an example of clean water (Category 1) and discharge from washing machines as an example of gray water (Category 2). The current standard’s full wording isn’t published openly, so treat that as a general rule and ask the provider how they classify your water and why.
The category changes the work. The IICRC says that with Category 2 or 3 water, remediation should happen before drying, and restorers should use contamination controls and worker protection. The EPA notes that its material-by-material cleanup table is written for clean water, and advises not to use fans before determining that the water is clean or sanitary. In practice, used wash water can mean more carpet pad and other soft materials come out.
Time matters too. The IICRC notes that time and temperature can change a water’s category, so laundry water that sits for days isn’t the same as water cleaned up the same afternoon.
Where the water goes
Laundry water rarely stays where you can see it.
- Under the flooring. Water runs under vinyl plank, laminate and wood, and soaks into carpet pad. For linoleum, ceramic tile and vinyl, the EPA’s cleanup table says to check that the underflooring is dry and dry it if necessary. It also says the subfloor under carpet or other flooring must be cleaned and dried.
- Into the walls. Drywall wicks water up from its bottom edge, often behind the washer and dryer where nobody looks. Swollen baseboards and bubbling paint low on the wall are signs.
- Into the next room. Water can cross under a door into a hallway, a bedroom or the kitchen, where it reaches carpet or cabinet bases.
- Into the garage. If the washer sits in the garage, water spreads across the slab, under stored boxes and toward the wall shared with the house.
- Through to the room below. If the laundry room is upstairs, water can run through the floor into the ceiling underneath and show up as a drip or a stain. Our guide to a water stain on the ceiling explains what to check. For clean-water damage, the EPA says wet ceiling insulation should be discarded and replaced.
The EPA advises drying water-damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. The Valley’s dry air helps surfaces dry, but it doesn’t reach water under flooring or inside a wall.
The repair and the cleanup are separate jobs
An appliance technician or a plumber deals with the washer: a new hose, valve, pump or door seal, or a cleared drain. A restoration provider deals with the water that got out. A provider will typically:
- Remove standing water from floors and carpet. See emergency water extraction.
- Map the wet area with moisture meters, under the flooring, inside the walls around the laundry area and in the rooms next to it.
- Decide what stays and what goes. Wet carpet pad is usually replaced. Flooring may have to come up so the subfloor can dry. With gray water, the provider may take out more porous material than they would after a clean-water leak.
- Dry the structure with air movers and dehumidifiers until readings reach dry targets. See structural drying.
- Check for mold behind the washer and dryer, under the flooring and at the bottom of the walls.
The washer may have to be pulled out before the floor and wall behind it can dry, so tell the technician and the provider who is doing what, and when. Before anyone starts, look up their contractor license with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Our page on water heater and appliance leaks covers washers alongside other household leaks.
Documenting it for insurance
What you keep and write down early makes a claim easier to follow.
- Photos before cleanup, as Arizona’s Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) advises.
- The failed part. Keep the hose, valve or fitting. The Insurance Information Institute advises against throwing out damaged items until the adjuster has visited.
- An early call to your insurer. DIFI suggests calling your insurer before a contractor, confirming what will be covered, and not taking a contractor’s word for what’s covered.
- A log once drying starts. DIFI suggests writing down times, dates, technicians’ names and the equipment used.
- Receipts for anything you pay for. The Insurance Information Institute says you may be able to submit them later.
On coverage, the Insurance Information Institute lists accidental discharge or overflow of water from a household appliance among the perils the common HO-3 policy covers, and says water seepage is excluded. The NAIC notes that a policy doesn’t pay to repair items that simply wear out, so the washer itself and the water damage may be treated differently. Read your own policy and see our insurance guide.
Checking the hoses before the next load
Most of this is a few minutes behind the machine:
- Look at the supply hoses whenever you pull the washer out. Cracks, bulges, kinks, or rust and drips at the fittings are reasons to replace them. Follow the washer’s manual for hoses.
- Leave room behind the washer so the hoses don’t bend sharply against the wall.
- Check the drain hose is secured in the standpipe or laundry sink.
- Watch a full cycle now and then. The Smart Home Water Guide notes that some leaks only happen while a device is running, and suggests running a clothes washer to see if a leak occurs.
- Know where the valves are. For long trips, the City of Phoenix suggests shutting off the water to the house.