What it involves: finding how far the water traveled, cutting out wet and moldy drywall, insulation and carpet pad under containment, cleaning and drying the framing, and confirming everything is dry and clear before rebuild. Flood water from the Sammamish River or a creek, or sewage, counts as Category 3 water, so more material has to come out.
What to do in the first 48 hours
Stop the water and stay safe
Shut off the water main or the fixture valve. Turn off power to wet rooms if you can reach the panel safely. Don't walk through standing water near outlets.
Document everything
Photos and video of every wet room, the source, and damaged belongings, before anything is moved or thrown out. Your insurer will ask.
Call your insurer
Report the loss and ask specifically about mold coverage and any mold limit in your policy.
Start drying, carefully
Get wet rugs and belongings out, open windows if it's dry outside, and run a dehumidifier. If you can already see or smell mold, don't point fans at it. That spreads spores. Call us first.
If water is still standing or walls are soaked, the job is extraction and structural drying first: pumping out water, pulling wet pad and drywall that can't dry in time, and running dehumidifiers until the framing reads dry. Call us if water is still standing.
Bothell flooding and the December 2025 storms
Bothell is built where the Sammamish River meets North Creek and Swamp Creek. In December 2025, atmospheric-river storms brought the Sammamish River out of its banks; King County photographed it flooding at the Park at Bothell Landing on December 11, and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings across the region. In past storms, North Creek has flooded parts of the North Creek Business Park, 120th Ave NE near NE 195th St, and fields along 228th St SE east of Fitzgerald Road.
River and creek water carries soil, debris and contamination from upstream. Drywall, insulation and carpet that it soaked can't be cleaned and dried in place. They have to be removed.
Homes outside the flood maps still flood. Groundwater rises in crawl spaces and basements along the river and creek corridors even when the street stays dry, and that water often isn't noticed until the smell starts.
Clean water, gray water and flood water
The IICRC S500 water damage standard sorts water into three categories, and the category decides what can be saved.
| Category | Examples | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 – clean | Supply line, water heater, clean sink overflow | Fast drying may save drywall and pad if caught early |
| Category 2 – gray | Washing machine, dishwasher, toilet overflow without feces | Porous materials like pad usually come out |
| Category 3 – black | Sewage, river or creek flooding, standing water that's sat for days | Porous materials come out, and surfaces are cleaned and sanitized |
Clean water also turns gray, then black, if it sits. That's another reason the first two days matter.
When mold has already started
If the water sat for more than a couple of days, or it came from a slow leak inside a wall, assume mold has started where you can't see it. The job becomes remediation, not just drying:
Map the moisture
Moisture meters and thermal imaging show how far water wicked up walls and across subfloors, which is usually farther than the stain.
Contain and set negative air
The wet rooms are sealed with plastic and put under negative pressure so the rest of the house stays clean.
Flood cut and remove
Drywall is cut out above the wet line (often 2 feet or more), along with wet insulation, carpet pad, baseboards and trim.
Clean and dry the structure
Studs and subfloor are HEPA vacuumed and cleaned, then dried with dehumidifiers until they reach dry readings.
Verify, then rebuild
An independent tester confirms the area is clear, and moisture readings confirm it's dry, before new drywall goes up.
Insurance after water damage
Washington's Office of the Insurance Commissioner notes that most homeowners policies don't cover mold, and some offer limited coverage. In practice, coverage usually hinges on cause. A sudden, covered event such as a burst pipe may be covered, often up to a mold limit. A slow leak or long-term humidity usually isn't. River and creek flooding isn't covered by a standard homeowners policy at all; that needs separate flood insurance. Delays can also complicate a claim, which is another reason to act inside the first two days. We document the cause, the extent and the scope in a way adjusters can use. More detail: mold insurance claims in Washington.