Water Extraction in Cartersville, GA
Standing water pumped out, wet structure dried, readings to prove it. Call and we start with a safety check.
Call (770) 230-0154Water extraction near me in Cartersville and Bartow County
If you are standing in water, the clock has started. Wet drywall begins to wick within hours. Hardwood cups in a day or two. Mold can start within a couple of days in a closed-up Georgia house. We pump out flooded basements, crawl spaces and ground floors, then dry what is left with air movers and dehumidifiers until the readings say it is dry.
Cartersville WaterGuard works out of 1160 Burnt Hickory Rd SW. We take emergency calls 24 hours a day, and the office is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
What are you seeing?
The first hour in a flooded house
- Get everyone out of the water. If it is above the outlets or you cannot see the floor, assume the power is live.
- Cut the power to that area at the panel, only if you can reach it dry. If you cannot, call the power company and us.
- Stop the source. A burst line has a shutoff. Rain water does not, so move on.
- Photograph everything before you move a thing. Your insurance adjuster will ask.
- Lift what you can off the wet floor: rugs, boxes, small furniture.
- Call us. We will go over the rest on the phone.
What not to do
- Do not walk through standing water with the power on.
- Do not run a household vacuum on wet carpet. A shop vac rated for water is a different tool.
- Do not turn on the HVAC if the ducts or the crawl space took water. It pushes damp air and spores through the house.
- Do not spray bleach on wet drywall and call it done.
Water Damage and Mold Services in Cartersville, GA
Frozen & burst pipe cleanup
Pump-out of the flooded space, then deep drying of floors, wall cavities and ceilings that took water from a split line. Winter is the busy season in Bartow County.
Flooded basement water removal
Standing water pumped out of Cartersville basements, wet carpet and pad removed, and the walls read and dried before mold starts.
Crawl space water removal
Water pumped out from under Cartersville homes, wet insulation taken down, joists and ground cover dried. Tight, muddy, slow work.
Structural drying & dehumidification
Air movers, dehumidifiers and moisture readings until floors, walls and ceilings match a dry reference.
Mold removal
Containment, HEPA air filtration and removal of the materials that cannot be saved. Crawl space mold is the most common call.
Commercial water damage restoration
Cartersville stores, offices, restaurants, churches and rental buildings. We work around your hours and document the loss for the claim.
Price it before you call: the water damage cost calculator, the mold removal cost calculator and the frozen and burst pipe checklist are free to use.
What happens after you call
- CallTell us what happened. We tell you what to do right now.
- Safety checkWe check power, gas and slip hazards before we start.
- Remove the waterPumps and extractors take out the standing water.
- Find what is wetMeter readings show which floors, walls and ceilings hold water.
- Dry itFans and dehumidifiers run, and we come back to check them.
- Final readingsWe confirm it is dry and give you the numbers.
You know what is happening at every step. We explain the plan first, and you get the readings when we finish.
The van, and what is in it
That is our van. The phone number on the side is the one on this page. When it pulls up, it brings the pumps, the extractors, the air movers and the dehumidifiers for the job, so the work starts on the first visit.
We keep our claims small because we would rather you check them. We are a local company with a street address you can drive to. We give a firm price after someone has looked at the job, not before. We record moisture readings at the start and again when drying ends, and you get a copy for your insurance company. We will not tell you a wall can be saved if it cannot, and we will not tear out one that can.
Why Cartersville houses take on water
- Crawl spaces over clay. Many older homes sit on block foundations with a crawl space. The soil around them is clay-heavy, and clay drains slowly. Water runs off the yard, meets the foundation wall and stays there.
- Split-levels cut into slopes. The lower floor of a split-level is often below the yard on the uphill side. A bad gutter or a clogged drain on the slope sends water straight at the wall.
- Creeks and the river. The Etowah River runs past town and Pettit Creek runs through it. Low lots near either can take water when the ground is already full.
- Lake Allatoona runoff. Homes near the lake sit on ground that drains toward it. Heavy rain moves a lot of water across lots on its way down.
- Hard winter freezes. Georgia houses are not built for long freezes. Lines run through crawl spaces, exterior walls and attics with little insulation. Snow can also refreeze at the eaves; see ice dam roof leaks.
- Old supply lines. Worn washing machine hoses, aging supply lines and tired water heaters fail without any weather at all.
Red-brown clay subsoil (Bt): starts at 7 inches and runs well past 40
Sources: USDA NRCS Official Series Description, Etowah (soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov); also Fullerton series for red clay with chert (soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov). The Bartow County soil map is on USDA Web Soil Survey.
Sources: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Cartersville Airport station (USW00053873), monthly precipitation and days with minimum temperature at or below 32°F. ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals
Sources: NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge CTVG1 (water.noaa.gov/gauges/ctvg1); USGS peak streamflow, site 02394670 (nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov).
A little Cartersville history that matters to wet houses
Cartersville was incorporated in 1850 and is supposedly named for Farish Carter, a wealthy Georgia planter. People settled here after the Cherokee Removal of 1838 and 1839, in part because the Western and Atlantic Railroad was coming. Cassville was the county seat until Union troops destroyed it in 1864, and the seat moved to Cartersville in 1867.
The river is the older story. The gauge record puts the 1919 flood at 31 feet and the 1946 flood at 30.4 feet, far above anything in recent years. Allatoona Dam was finished in 1950 and Lake Allatoona now sits upstream. The dam does nothing for creek flooding, yard drainage or a pipe that freezes.
The cold has its own record. The National Weather Service table for December 2022 shows a low of 7°F at Cartersville on December 24, 9°F at Rome and 8°F in Atlanta.
Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, Cartersville; NOAA NWPS gauge CTVG1; NWS Peachtree City, December 2022 Climate Summary.
Service areas around Cartersville
We serve Cartersville and the towns around it in Bartow County. Each town below has its own page with the water problems we see there.
In Cartersville itself we are near the Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site, the Tellus Science Museum, the Booth Western Art Museum and historic downtown. Out toward Euharlee the landmark is the covered bridge, and toward Emerson it is Red Top Mountain State Park. Adairsville has its own historic downtown.
A kitchen, before and after
Water under the sink cabinet, before
Dried and put back, after
A flooded crawl space, insulation down and the vapor barrier under water
A basement with the water line on the wallsWhat water damage work costs
These are planning ranges, not a quote. Georgia prices, access to a crawl space and the amount of mud can move them either way. For a firm number, call for an on-site assessment.
| Work | Planning range |
|---|---|
| Water extraction, clean water | $3.75 to $4.25 per sq ft |
| Water extraction, gray water | $4.10 to $6.50 per sq ft |
| Water extraction, black water | $7.00 to $7.50 per sq ft |
| Drying out a 500 sq ft basement | $2,000 to $7,000 |
| Mold remediation | $10 to $30 per sq ft |
| Mold in a crawl space | $500 to $2,000 |
| Mold involving HVAC and ducts | $3,000 to $10,000 |
Put your own numbers in: water damage restoration cost calculator | mold removal cost calculator.
Questions we get on the phone
- How fast can you get to Cartersville?
- We take emergency calls 24 hours a day. Give us the address and what you see and we will tell you how soon we can be there.
- Is the water in my basement safe to touch?
- Not until the power is checked. Rain water that came through a wall is one thing. Water that came up through a floor drain may be sewage.
- How long does drying take?
- Often three to five days for a room or a basement, longer for thick materials like hardwood and plaster. We take readings each visit and stop only when they match the dry reference.
- Will my insurance pay for it?
- It depends on the policy and on how the water got in. Sudden events and long-term leaks are often treated differently, and flood coverage is usually separate. Call your agent early and send them the photos.
- Do you do mold removal too?
- Yes. See the mold removal page. Mold that follows a leak is the most common reason people call us a second time.
- What if a pipe froze but has not burst?
- Open the faucet it feeds, keep the heat on and open the cabinet doors. Do not use an open flame to thaw it. If it splits, shut off the main and call.
Water on the floor right now?
Call us, tell us what you see, and we will tell you what happens next.
Call (770) 230-0154