A burst pipe can flood a home with hundreds of gallons of water in under an hour. What you do in the first 24 hours determines whether you face a $4,000 cleanup or a $40,000 reconstruction. This is the exact playbook IICRC-certified restoration crews recommend for Ontario homeowners and commercial property managers.

Minute 0–15: Stop the source

Shut off the main water valve. In most Ontario homes it is in the basement, near where the municipal supply enters the foundation. Turn the handle clockwise until it stops.
Shut off electricity to the affected area at the breaker panel if it is safe to reach the panel without standing in water. If the panel is in the flooded area, leave it alone and call 911 or your utility.
Open the lowest faucet in the house to drain residual pressure from the pipes.
If the burst is on a hot-water line, shut off your water heater (gas or electric) to stop it from cycling against an empty tank.

Minute 15–60: Make the scene safe and call for help

Move people and pets out of the flooded area.
Lift small valuables, electronics, and area rugs out of the water.
Do not use a household vacuum to extract water — only wet/dry vacuums or truck-mounted extraction units are rated for it.
Call 24/7 emergency restoration dispatch. Every hour matters. Call (855) 3247-FLOOD for IICRC-certified response across Kingston and Eastern Ontario.
Call your insurance broker to open the claim and get a claim number. Most carriers have a 24/7 claims line.

Hour 1–4: Document everything

Before moving anything, photograph and video the entire affected area from multiple angles. Include:

The failed pipe (a clear close-up shot)
Standing water in every room
Wet walls, baseboards, and flooring
Damaged furniture and contents
Any visible mould or staining
Wide shots showing the extent of the spread

This documentation is critical for your insurance claim. Adjusters routinely reduce or deny claims where the cause of loss was not photographed before cleanup began.

Hour 4–24: Mitigation begins

Once restoration crews are on-site, the IICRC S500 mitigation sequence runs:

Water extraction with truck-mounted units (10x faster than wet/dry vacs)
Moisture mapping with thermal imaging and penetrating meters to find hidden water in wall cavities and joist bays
Removal of saturated porous materials — carpet pad, soaked drywall below the waterline, wet insulation
Antimicrobial application to prevent mould activation
Air mover and dehumidifier placement sized to the cubic footage per IICRC S500
Daily psychrometric monitoring to dry standard

If you start extraction within 4 hours of the burst, most homes can be dried without major demolition. Wait 48+ hours and you are usually looking at flood cuts, drywall replacement, and a much longer reconstruction phase.

What NOT to do in the first 24 hours

Do not turn the heat way up to "dry it out faster." High heat accelerates mould growth in saturated materials.
Do not rip out drywall or baseboards before the adjuster sees the damage in its original state.
Do not throw out damaged contents — pile them in a documented inventory for the claim.
Do not use bleach to "kill mould" on wet drywall. Bleach is mostly water; it makes things worse.
Do not wait until business hours to call your insurer or a restoration contractor. Every carrier has a 24/7 claims line.
Do not sign anything from a contractor without reading it — especially Assignment of Benefits forms.

The hidden water you cannot see

A burst pipe rarely leaves all the water visible on the floor. Water migrates through:

Wall cavities (capillary action up drywall)
Joist bays under flooring
Insulation (which holds 10x its weight in water)
HVAC ducts and registers
Behind cabinets and built-ins
Down through ceilings to the floor below

This is why DIY "mop and fan" cleanups fail. Surface water dries; hidden water rots framing and grows mould. Professional crews use thermal imaging and moisture meters to find every wet cavity.

What insurance typically covers

A sudden burst pipe is the textbook example of a covered loss on a standard Ontario homeowner policy. Coverage usually includes:

Water extraction and structural drying
Damaged drywall, flooring, baseboards, and trim
Damaged contents (subject to your contents limit)
Additional Living Expenses (ALE) if you cannot stay in the home
Plumber's cost to repair the failed pipe (varies by policy)

You will pay your deductible (typically $500–$2,500). We bill the rest directly to your insurer in Xactimate format.

After 24 hours: what to expect

Days 1–3: Active extraction and demolition (if needed)
Days 3–7: Structural drying with daily monitoring
Days 7–10: Final dry standard confirmed; drying equipment removed
Weeks 2–6: Reconstruction (drywall, paint, flooring, trim)

For a typical kitchen or basement burst-pipe claim, plan on 4–6 weeks from burst to fully restored.

Get help right now

If you have a burst pipe in your home or commercial property, every minute matters. Our IICRC-certified crews dispatch 24/7/365 across Kingston, Napanee, Brockville, Gananoque, Picton, Smiths Falls, Prescott, Perth, Carleton Place, Belleville, and New Tecumseth.

Call dispatch: (855) 3247-FLOOD — or submit an online emergency request.

About this guide & the team behind it

This article was written and reviewed by the IICRC-certified restoration technicians at 24/7 Remedial Services, a Kingston, Ontario property-restoration company with more than two decades of combined field and construction experience across Eastern Ontario. We respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to water, fire, smoke, mould, storm, and impact losses across Kingston, Napanee, Brockville, Gananoque, Picton, Belleville, Smiths Falls, Perth, Prescott, Carleton Place, and the surrounding Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, Leeds & Grenville, Lanark, Hastings, and Prince Edward county townships.

Every guide on this blog is grounded in the same industry standards Canadian insurance carriers expect on a properly documented claim file: IICRC S500 for water damage restoration, IICRC S520 for professional mould remediation, and IICRC S700 for fire and smoke restoration. Where the article references a Category 1/2/3 water classification, a Class 1–4 drying environment, a Condition 1/2/3 indoor mould assessment, or a specific Xactimate line item, that terminology is used deliberately — it's the same vocabulary your adjuster uses and the same vocabulary that holds up in subrogation.

If you are dealing with an active loss as you read this, please do not wait. Most Kingston addresses see one of our restoration crews on-site within 60 minutes of dispatch — including overnight, on weekends, and during severe-weather events. Surrounding Eastern Ontario communities follow as quickly as travel allows. The cost of waiting on mitigation is almost always higher than the cost of acting immediately.

How our crews work

› 24/7/365 dispatch from a Kingston base
› Free written Xactimate scope before any work begins
› Daily timestamped moisture logs & photo documentation
› Direct billing to every major Canadian insurer
› Mitigation through reconstruction under one project lead

What we restore

› Water damage — burst pipes, floods, sewage backups
› Fire & smoke — soot removal, deodourization, rebuild
› Mould — IICRC S520 containment & clearance
› Storm & impact — emergency board-up and tarping
› Commercial, multi-unit, institutional & residential

Need restoration help right now?

24/7 Remedial Services dispatches IICRC-certified crews around the clock across Kingston and Eastern Ontario. Whether the damage is water, fire, smoke, mould, or storm-related, calling early in the first 24 hours dramatically reduces the eventual scope of work, the disruption to your property, and the size of your insurance claim. Our team handles the documentation, the insurer coordination, and the rebuild — so you only deal with one accountable contact from the first call to the final paint touch-up.

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