Pumping standing storm water out of garages, ground floors and lower rooms across Tampa and Hillsborough County, starting with the water that is still moving.
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Flood Pump-Out
Storm Rain and Flood Water Pump-Out: what it covers
Quick answer
Storm-water pump-out removes the standing water that heavy rain leaves inside a home, usually through the garage, a sliding door sill or a low ground-floor room. In Tampa the wet season runs from June to November, and the largest losses come from rain that falls faster than the yard and street drains can carry it away. Calls are answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225.
Storm water does not behave like a leaking pipe. A pipe puts water in one place and stops when it is shut off. Heavy rain arrives across a whole roof, a whole yard and a whole street at once, and when the ground is already saturated from a week of afternoon storms, it has nowhere to go but toward the lowest opening in the building. In Tampa that opening is often the garage door track, the sliding-door threshold or a side door that sits a step below the lawn.
The first decision on a storm-water call is whether the water is still coming in. If rain is still driving under a door or over a sill, pumping alone will not keep up, and the work starts with narrowing the entry point as far as it can safely be narrowed. Temporary barriers, sandbags against a threshold, a wet-vac run in the right order and a check of the outlets along the wet line are the usual first steps, and they are worth more than any pump.
Once the water stops entering, the work is about speed and about what is left behind. Standing water that sits on drywall, carpet pad and cabinet bases for a day becomes a different job from water that is out in a few hours. The sooner the bulk water comes out, the less of it wicks upward into the wall, and the less the drying work has to chase later.
Signs you need storm rain and flood water pump-out
Do not wade into water above the ankle near a live outlet, a wet panel or a plugged-in appliance. Turn off power to the wet rooms at the panel only if you can reach it without standing in water, and call the electric utility if you cannot. Keep children and pets away from the water. Storm water can carry debris, sharp objects and whatever the ground held, so wear closed shoes and gloves. This page describes the water work. Any structural or electrical repair is for a licensed electrician or a contractor the homeowner hires.
Water standing across a garage slab, deepest against the wall that faces the lawn
A wet line on lower drywall that rises a few inches above the floor and is still darkening
Carpet pad that squelches underfoot even where the surface looks almost dry
Water pooling at a sliding-door sill or entry threshold after the rain has passed
Stored boxes or shelving on the ground floor darkening from the bottom up
A ceiling stain in a room under a wet roof area, with water still running along a wall cavity
Outlets, power strips or an appliance sitting in water that is still rising
Our process
How our storm rain and flood water pump-out visit works
Make the building safe to enter
Before anyone wades in, power to the wet rooms is turned off at the panel where that can be done without standing in water. Water around a live outlet or a plugged-in appliance is a shock risk, so the electrical side is the first check on any flood. Gas appliances in a flooded utility room get the same check.
Stop or slow the entry
Where rain is still getting in, the crew works to narrow the opening. Temporary barriers, sandbags placed against a threshold and a look at gutters and downspouts that dump water against the foundation all cut what comes in. The aim is to keep water outside long enough to remove what is already inside.
Pump and vacuum the standing water
Depth decides the tool. A submersible pump moves bulk water out of a garage or a flooded room to a point where it cannot run back in. Shallower water is taken up with extraction vacuums, which also pull water out of carpet pad and from under the toe of a baseboard. The pumps are moved as the level drops so the last few inches are not left in a corner.
Lift what holds water
Soaked carpet pad, wet cardboard, swollen particleboard and vinyl laid over a slab all keep water against the floor. Pad is usually removed and discarded, cardboard and particleboard that have taken on water are often lost, and baseboard may come off so trapped water can be drawn out and the cavity can dry.
Record the loss and set the drying plan
Photographs, moisture readings and a sketch of the rooms that were wet are the record an insurance adjuster asks for later. The readings also set the drying equipment, so the choice of dehumidifiers and air movers comes from measured wet areas rather than from the visible puddle.
Job stories
Typical jobs for storm rain and flood water pump-out
A typical storm-water call in a ground-floor garage
What homeowners notice
Heavy rain drove water under a garage door and across the slab into the room beside it. The homeowner called the line after the rain had stopped.
What we do
The power to the wet area was checked before anyone entered. Standing water was pumped out, the wet pad was removed and readings were taken across the wall base and the floor.
What to expect
The drying plan was set from the readings, and the record of the water line and the materials removed was given to the homeowner for the insurer.
Varies with the depth of the water typical visit
How quickly does storm water have to come out?
As soon as it safely can. Water removed within a few hours leaves the materials in the room able to dry. Water left for a day or more soaks into drywall and wood and turns the job into a rebuild.
Standing water does its damage in stages. In the first hour it wets the surface of carpet and the lowest few inches of drywall. Over the next several hours it wicks upward through the paper facing and into the plate at the bottom of the wall. After a day the damage is often in the framing and the subfloor, and the materials that cannot be dried are the ones that have to come out. Heavy wet-season rain in Hillsborough County can leave a garage wet for a whole night, which is why the call should be placed early rather than after a day spent waiting for the water to go down on its own.
Is storm water clean?
Rain that falls on a roof and runs straight down is usually treated as clean at first. Water that has crossed a yard, a driveway or a flooded street picks up soil, debris and whatever the ground carries, and its category can change as it moves.
That is why the crew asks where the water came from and how far it travelled before it reached the room. Water that has crossed a lawn or a flooded street is handled with more care than water from a roof gutter, and porous materials that have taken it on, such as carpet pad, are more often removed than saved. The category is a judgement made on site. It sets the protective gear, the equipment and the disposal of anything that cannot be cleaned.
Can a pump-out be done without drying?
Removing the water is only the first stage. A pump-out that stops when the floor looks dry leaves moisture behind the baseboard and under the subfloor, where mold can start and wood softens.
Drying is measured, not guessed. Moisture meters and readings taken through the wall show whether the materials are back near their normal level. The drying plan is written from those readings, and the job is not finished until the readings say it is. A pump-out that stops at the visible puddle is the reason many storm losses come back as a second problem, and it is the step most often skipped when a room looks dry from the doorway.
What should a homeowner do while the water is still there?
Keep people out of the water, turn off power to wet rooms at the panel where that is safe, move what can be moved above the line, and take photographs before anything is cleared.
Photographs of the water line on the walls, the depth in the garage and the items lying in it are the most useful record a homeowner can keep. Do not run a household vacuum through standing water, and do not plug in a fan or a space heater near it. If the water came up from a drain, or if there is any doubt about the electrical side, leave the room and call the line. The line is answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225.
Does a storm call change during the rainy months?
Yes. From June through November the wet season brings rain that repeats over days, so a home can take water twice before the first loss is dry.
Repeated rain is the particular problem of a Florida summer. A home pumped out on a Tuesday can take another inch of rain on Thursday through the same garage door, and the materials that were nearly dry are wet again. Crews that work the wet season plan for a second entry, check the seal and the threshold again and keep the moisture readings going for longer than they would after a single rain.
Options
Types and options for storm rain and flood water pump-out
Garage and ground-floor storm entry
The most common storm call in Tampa. Water comes under a garage door or through a side door, runs across the slab and reaches the first room that sits a step higher. The garage is often the wettest room in the house after a storm and the one most used for stored goods.
Ponding against a slab or lower floor
When the yard drains fill and the street cannot take the run-off, water can stand against a house for hours. Ground-floor rooms built on a slab dry more slowly, because there is no air space below the floor to pull moisture into.
Storm water through a roof or wall opening
Some storm losses do not come from the ground at all. Wind-driven rain that enters a roof edge, a window frame or a vent can run down inside a wall and show up as a ceiling stain or a wet baseboard. These are handled by opening the wall at its low point and drying the cavity, which is a separate job from clearing the floor.
Hillsborough County
Why storm rain and flood water pump-out is different in Tampa Bay, Florida
Tampa's wet season runs from June to November, and storm calls in Tampa cluster in that window. A garage and a ground floor are the usual first places rain reaches, so the pump-out often starts with a door that did not seal.
In October 2024 Hurricane Milton brought more than 16 inches of rain to St. Petersburg, and regional reports put the rain at up to 18 inches in parts of the state. Most storm-water calls in Hillsborough County are far smaller than that, but the same rain that outruns the drains is what fills a garage.
The line covers Tampa and the surrounding communities, including the four Pinellas County areas across the bay. Those calls are handled the same way, and the county named on the job is the one where the water came in.
Still stuck? We pick up 24/7.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent storm rain and flood water pump-out, send the form and we'll call you back.
Bringing wet walls, floors and framing back to normal moisture with air movers and dehumidifiers, timed for how slowly humid air lets water leave a building.
A water damage job is priced by its drivers, not by a fixed figure: how much water came in and how far it spread, what kind of water it was, how long it stayed before anyone acted, which materials it reached and how humid air slows the drying.
A homeowner's water damage claim turns on the cause of the water, whether it was sudden or gradual, and whether the policy carries an endorsement for flood or backup.
Most of the service area is in Hillsborough County, but four of the areas served are in Pinellas County across Tampa Bay: the north-east edge of St.
Read the guide
FAQ
Storm Rain and Flood Water Pump-Out FAQs
How much storm water can a pump-out remove?
The volume depends on how deep the water is and how large the room is. A garage can hold a great deal of water, and a pump removes it in steps. The crew measures depth and area on site, and the price is explained and approved there before any work starts.
Will the pump-out remove my carpet?
Carpet pad that has soaked up storm water is usually removed, because it holds water against the floor and rarely dries in place. Carpet can often be lifted, cleaned and dried if the water was clean and the pad is taken out. Which materials are saved is decided on site from the readings and the category of the water.
Do I need to be home for the pump-out?
Nobody needs to stand in the water while it is pumped, but the homeowner or a nominated person should be reachable by phone or at the address to answer questions about the rooms and the access. The crew asks which rooms were wet and where the water came in.
Should I call my insurer first?
Many homeowners call their insurer and the water company close together. Note the time of each call, take photographs before anything is moved and keep the receipts. Storm-water coverage depends on the policy, and the insurer decides it. The insurance claims guide linked from this page sets out the general pattern.
What if water comes back after it was pumped out?
A second rain through the same opening is a new entry point and a new call. If water returns through a wall or floor with no rain outside, the cause may be a wet wall cavity or a pipe, and the readings show where moisture is still moving.
Is the pump-out work covered by a warranty?
The work itself is between the homeowner and the local company that carries it out, and this line does not warrant any work performed. The disclaimer page explains the arrangement in full.
