Electricity. Do not touch, plug in, unplug, or switch anything electrical while you are standing in water. If your breaker panel is dry and you can reach it without wading, shut off the main breaker. If you would have to walk through water to get there, do not. Stay out and call an electrician or your utility. This is the single mistake that turns a plumbing problem into an ambulance ride.
Hot water lines. A pipe that burst on the hot side is delivering water at whatever your water heater is set to. Keep children and pets out of the room until you know which line failed. Assume hot until you know.
Ceilings. If water is coming through a ceiling and the drywall is sagging, bulging, or dripping in more than one place, it is holding weight. Get out from under it and watch from the doorway. More on that in ceiling water damage.
Leave and call 911 if you smell gas, if water is reaching outlets or a live panel, or if the water is still rising and you cannot stop it.
First five minutes: kill the water
A burst pipe in a house on ordinary municipal pressure moves a lot of water in a hurry, and a half-inch supply line will empty into a room faster than most people expect. Nothing else on this page matters until the flow stops. Work this list in order. Do not stop to clean anything.
- Close the whole-house shutoff. Turn it clockwise until it will not turn any further. If it is a lever-style ball valve, rotate it a quarter turn so the handle sits across the pipe rather than along it.
- If you can see the break, close the local valve instead. Toilets, sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, and water heaters all have their own small valve within a few feet. Closing that one keeps the rest of the house in water.
- Drain the pressure. Open the lowest cold-water faucet in the house and an outside hose bib. The water already sitting in the pipes has to come out somewhere, and you would rather it came out of a tub than out of the hole in the wall.
- Cut power to the wet area. Only from a dry standing position, as above.
- Get people and pets out of the wet rooms.
- Photograph before you touch anything. Wide shot of each room from the doorway, close-ups of the failed pipe or fitting while it is still in place, water depth against a baseboard or door frame, and a slow video walkthrough in which you say the date, the time, and what you are looking at.
- Note when it started. If you came home to it, note the last time you know the house was dry. That single fact gets asked about more than any other and remembered less. Write it down now.
Call your landlord, property manager, or association immediately, and follow up in writing so there is a timestamp. In multi-family buildings your line's shutoff may be in a shared closet you are not allowed to open, and water from your unit may already be running into the one below.
Where the shutoff valve actually is
Most people learn where their shutoff is on the night they need it. Ten minutes of looking now is worth an hour of damage later.
In a typical Florida slab-on-grade house there is no basement and no crawl space, so the whole-house valve is almost always in one of four places: on an exterior wall near the front of the house, often within a few feet of the hose bib; inside the garage near the water heater; in a small in-ground box in the lawn between the house and the street; or, in older homes, inside a utility or laundry closet. Condominiums and townhomes vary. The valve may be in a hallway closet, in a shared mechanical room, or above a ceiling access panel.
The backup is the water meter box at the curb, usually a rectangular plastic or concrete lid with the utility's name on it, sitting just inside the property line and, in half the subdivisions in this state, half-swallowed by St. Augustine runners that have to be pulled back before you can even lever the lid up. Inside is the utility's shutoff. It normally needs a meter key, which is an L-shaped tool that costs a few dollars at a hardware store, and a large adjustable wrench sometimes works instead. Buy the key. Put it in the garage and tell everyone in the house where it lives. Go find your valve this week, turn it once to confirm it moves, and photograph it so anyone in the household can find it at 2 a.m.
Why pipes burst in a state that never freezes
Frozen pipes are a northern story. In Florida, plumbing fails for reasons that have nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with time, pressure, and materials, which is why burst pipes happen here in July as readily as in January. The season is irrelevant. The age of the house is not.
| What fails | Why it fails in Florida | Warning signs before it lets go |
|---|---|---|
| Braided supply hoses Toilets, sinks, washing machines |
The rubber liner inside the steel braid ages and splits. These fail suddenly and often while nobody is home. | Rust or bulging on the braid, dampness at the fitting, a hose more than about five years old |
| Old galvanized or early plastic pipe | Decades of corrosion narrow the pipe from the inside and thin the wall until a seam splits. | Rusty or discolored water at first draw, falling pressure, pinhole leaks that keep appearing |
| Fittings and solder joints | Joints move with temperature and vibration. A joint under a slab or inside a wall can weep for months before it opens up. | A warm spot on a tile floor, the sound of running water with everything off, an unexplained jump in the water bill |
| High water pressure | Residential plumbing is generally built around a maximum of about 80 psi. Municipal pressure above that stresses every joint in the house at once. | Banging pipes when a faucet closes, running toilets, repeated appliance valve failures |
| Slab and soil movement | Sandy soils, sinkhole-prone areas, and tree roots shift the ground under a slab and put bending loads on buried pipe. | Damp or warm patches on the floor, floor cracks that widen, a water meter that creeps with all fixtures closed |
| The rare cold snap | North Florida does see freezes, and exposed exterior pipe, pool equipment and irrigation lines are the first casualties. | Uninsulated pipe on an exterior wall or in an unconditioned attic or garage |
Two cheap fixes cover most of that list. Replace braided supply hoses on a schedule rather than waiting for one to fail, and have a plumber check your static pressure and install a pressure-reducing valve if it reads high. Worth knowing the trade word for the third row in that table: a failure in pipe buried under the concrete is a slab leak, and in a Florida house the first sign is often a patch of floor tile that is warm underfoot in a room nobody is heating. Battery or Wi-Fi water leak sensors placed under the water heater, behind the washing machine, and under each sink cost very little and will wake you up before the floor does.
The first 24 hours: dry it or lose it
Once the water stops, you are in a race. The EPA's guidance is blunt: mold can grow on wood, drywall, carpet and furniture if they stay wet for more than 24 hours, and anything that cannot be cleaned and dried inside roughly 24 to 48 hours should be thrown out. In Florida's ambient humidity, plan around the 24.
- Pull the standing water out with a wet/dry shop vacuum, a squeegee, or a mop and bucket, in that order of preference. Never use a household vacuum cleaner on water.
- Lift everything off the floor. Furniture legs onto blocks or foil, rugs out of the room, books, boxes and electronics up onto counters.
- Open the building up. Interior doors, closet doors, cabinet and vanity doors, drawers pulled out. Air has to reach the cavities, not just the room.
- Run the air conditioning, assuming it is not the source and is safe to run, plus every fan and dehumidifier you own. Keep the windows closed. Florida outdoor air is a humidifier, not a drying tool.
- Do not shut it all down at bedtime. Eight quiet overnight hours is a third of your window.
- Look for water you cannot see. Wet drywall wicks upward, so a wall that reads dry at eye level can be soaked to 18 inches. Check behind baseboards, under laminate seams, inside base cabinets, and at doorway thresholds.
How do you know when it is actually dry? Not by touch. The EPA recommends a moisture meter and a target of 15 percent moisture content or less before any material is refinished. That is the same instrument a restoration technician uses, and the readings should end up in your file, dated, room by room, so that three weeks later there is a written record of the day the wall stopped being wet rather than an opinion about it.
Plumber or restoration company?
Both, and they are not interchangeable. Calling only one is the most common expensive mistake after a burst pipe. Two trades. Two invoices.
A licensed plumbing contractor repairs or replaces the failed pipe and gets your water back on. In Florida, plumbing contractors are licensed under Chapter 489 of the Florida Statutes through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and you can check any license number yourself on the DBPR site before anyone starts work.
A restoration contractor deals with the building: extraction, mapping how far the water travelled with meters and a thermal camera, controlled removal of what cannot be dried, and days of air movers and dehumidifiers with documented daily readings. The EPA suggests looking for training or certification from bodies such as the IICRC when you hire this work out. Our guide to choosing a restoration company covers what to ask and which answers should end the conversation.
If mold turns up on an area larger than 10 square feet, that is a third license again. Florida requires a state-licensed mold assessor or mold remediator under Chapter 468, Part XVI, and the drying company's certificate does not cover it.
What burst pipe water damage costs
These are published national market statistics, gathered from contractor estimates across the country. They are useful for sanity-checking a number someone gives you. They are not a quote for your house, and no honest company will give you a real one without seeing it.
| What you are paying for | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Burst pipe repair, materials and labor | $400 – $2,000 total, averaging $150 – $250 per linear foot | HomeGuide 2026 burst pipe repair cost guide |
| Emergency plumber labor rate | $120 – $300+ per hour for fast arrival | HomeGuide 2026 burst pipe repair cost guide |
| Burst pipe plus the resulting water damage | $1,000 – $4,000 | Angi 2026 water damage restoration cost data |
| Water damage restoration overall | $3,864 average, $450 to $16,000 range | Angi 2026 water damage restoration cost data |
| Extraction and drying, clean water | $4 – $6 per square foot | HomeGuide 2026 water damage restoration cost guide |
| Drywall replacement after removal | $2 – $6 per square foot | HomeGuide 2026 burst pipe repair cost guide |
| Mold remediation, if it becomes necessary | $15 – $30 per square foot | HomeGuide 2026 water damage restoration cost guide |
The pattern in that table matters more than any single number: the pipe is the cheap part. What drives the invoice is how much of the building got wet and how long it stayed that way. Full detail is in our Florida water damage restoration cost guide.
Six things not to do
- Do not wade to the breaker panel. Ever.
- Do not throw the failed pipe or hose away. Bag it, label it with the date, put it in the garage. Once it is in a dumpster it stops existing.
- Do not open the windows to "air it out." In a Florida summer you are importing moisture.
- Do not paint, seal or cover wet drywall. Trapping moisture behind a coating converts a drying job into a demolition job.
- Do not sign anything you have not read, especially a document titled "assignment," "direction to pay," or "work authorization." Take a photo of every page before you sign.
- Do not let demolition start before the damage is photographed and the scope is in writing, including how many days of drying equipment you are agreeing to pay for.
On the insurance side, our lane is narrow and we will stay in it: report the loss to your carrier factually and promptly, because your policy sets the notice deadline, not this website. We are not licensed to advise you on coverage or on how to present a claim. For general background on how homeowners policies treat water, see does homeowners insurance cover water damage, and confirm anything specific with your own licensed agent.
Get one licensed restoration pro on the way
Tell us your ZIP code and what failed. We pass your details to a single independent, appropriately licensed professional serving your area, never to a list of bidders.
We are paid a flat referral fee that does not depend on whether you buy anything. FloodReady Florida is not a plumbing or restoration contractor and performs no work.
Common questions
How do I stop water from a burst pipe right now?
Close the whole-house shutoff valve, turning it clockwise until it stops. In most Florida slab-on-grade homes that valve is on an exterior wall near the front of the house, often beside a hose bib, or in the garage near the water heater. If you cannot find it or it will not move, the utility shutoff inside the meter box at the curb is the backup. Then open the lowest faucet in the house to drain the remaining pressure.
Why do pipes burst in Florida if it never freezes?
Freezing is a northern cause, not the main Florida one. Here, pipes fail from age and material fatigue, from water pressure above the roughly 80 psi that residential plumbing is designed around, from corrosion at fittings, from tree roots and slab movement, and from braided supply hoses at toilets, sinks and washing machines that let go without warning. North Florida does get the occasional freeze, and exposed exterior and attic pipe is what fails when it does.
Do I need a plumber or a restoration company after a pipe bursts?
Usually both, and they do different jobs. A licensed plumbing contractor repairs the pipe and gets the water back on. A restoration contractor extracts the water, measures how far it traveled, and dries the structure so the wall cavity does not grow mold. A plumber who patches the pipe and leaves has solved half the problem, and it is the half that costs less.
How much does burst pipe damage cost to fix?
HomeGuide's 2026 cost guide puts burst pipe repair itself at $400 to $2,000, or about $150 to $250 per linear foot of pipe. The water damage is priced separately: Angi's 2026 data puts repairing a burst pipe and the associated damage at $1,000 to $4,000, while its overall water damage restoration average is $3,864 with a range of $450 to $16,000. Those are national market statistics, not a quote for your house.
Can I dry it out myself with fans?
Only for a small, quickly caught spill on a hard surface. Household fans dry the surface while the drywall core, the carpet pad and the subfloor stay wet, and in Florida humidity that hidden moisture does not leave on its own. The EPA's guidance is that materials should be dried within 24 to 48 hours, and confirming that means moisture readings, not touch. More in how long until mold grows.
How long should the drying equipment stay in my house?
Until documented moisture readings say the structure is dry, which is commonly three to five days but depends on how much water there was and what it soaked. The EPA notes that materials should read 15 percent moisture content or less before refinishing. Ask for the daily readings in writing rather than accepting a technician's opinion that it feels dry, and be equally suspicious of equipment left running for two weeks with no readings to justify it.
Keep reading
- House flooded? What to do in the first 24 hours. The full emergency checklist.
- Water heater leaking or burst. The other supply-side failure that empties itself into your house.
- Ceiling water damage. When the pipe that broke is above your head.
- What water damage restoration costs in Florida. The published ranges, with sources.
- How to choose a restoration company. Credentials, red flags, what to get in writing.
- All water damage guides
Sources
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Flood Cleanup to Protect Indoor Air and Your Health. The 24-hour wet-material threshold, the 15% moisture-content target, and guidance on hiring a qualified professional.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home. The 24 to 48 hour drying window.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Safety Guidelines: Reentering Your Flooded Home. Electrical hazards around standing water.
- Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, IICRC. The S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration and its water categories.
- HomeGuide, How Much Does It Cost to Repair a Burst Pipe? (2026). Repair, labor and drywall replacement ranges.
- HomeGuide, How Much Does Water Damage Restoration Cost? (2026). Extraction cost by water category and mold remediation pricing.
- Angi, How Much Does Water Damage Restoration Cost? [2026 Data]. National average and burst pipe damage range.
- The Florida Senate, Florida Statutes Chapter 489. Construction contracting, including plumbing contractor licensure.
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, DBPR licensee search. Verifying a contractor's license status.
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Mold-Related Services licensing FAQs. The 10-square-foot threshold under Chapter 468, Part XVI, Florida Statutes.
What FloodReady Florida is, and is not. We are a consumer information site. We are not a plumbing contractor, we are not a water damage restoration contractor, we are not a mold assessor or remediator, we are not an insurance agency, agent, broker, or public adjuster, and we do not perform any work on your home. Nothing here is insurance, legal, medical, or engineering advice.
How we make money. If you ask to be contacted, we pass your details to one independent, appropriately licensed third-party professional serving your ZIP code. We are paid a flat referral fee, fixed in advance, that does not depend on whether you buy anything or on the size of any job. We receive no commission, override, or payment contingent on a sale.
Under Florida law, only a licensed public adjuster or an attorney may act on your behalf to prepare, file, or negotiate an insurance claim. We do none of those things and we cannot tell you how to present a claim. Published cost data, standards and statutes change — confirm current details with the licensed professional you hire.