The very first thing you should do is contact your insurance agent and find out if taking pics will be enough to document the damage or if they need to come out to personally inspect the damage.

I can't be of help with what else to do except to get dehumidifiers and fans going. Good luck with resolving the damage.

^^that

I would search for some advice on flooring forums too. I bet there is stuff already out there that would help without having to wait for replies. I know wood is a bit finicky, I would stick to fans and dehumidifiers to dry it out. While heat would speed things up, I'm not sure the wood would like that.

HI S., I'm SO sorry to hear. As others have suggested, please take and post pictures, and definitely solicit advice in other forums.

Thanks all. We pulled the dry wall down and removed all insulation. DH is going over carpet for third time. Fans are going.

Ditto what others have said. I'm SOOO sorry for inconvenience and potential damage.

You may want to call in a restoration company.. Here is a blog telling about a leak and what professionals can do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Water leak

Please tell me you've contacted your homeowner's insurance. My in-laws had a washer leak years ago that left the floor throughout the house under a couple of inches of water overnight. These were all hardwood floors except for vinyl in the kitchen and terra cotta tiles on the side porch. Fortunately the walls weren't damaged as they are adobe, but the floors were a total loss. I believe it cost in the neighborhood of $75,000 to repair and replace in this small 1350 sf house, and that was in the mid-80s. There's a reason you carry homeowner's insurance!

Thanks Anne and Corgi. Great idea to call a restoration company. The closest is over an hour away, but I saw several trucks in town a month ago when the flooding occurred in many basements.

Suzanne - That is horrible for your in-laws. Insurance company notified. This is our third or fourth rodeo with water issues over our 35 year marriage. We have insurance for water damage. This is something we demanded over 20 years ago after the first incident.

We are also going to contact the plumbing company because it may be faulty installation. Nothing being said to insurance company about that until we can prove it. Ain't life grand.

Mother....so sorry for your loss. I would call in a HWF specialist asap. A lot of cleaning companies are either duct cleaning companies that do cleaning on the side or full on cleaners..but they are not HWF specialists. If your subfloors are wet, you may need to rip out the HWF to get the subfloor dry. Trust me, I had mold in this house when I bought it...best to be conservative in the repair as mold is a real PITA to get rid of.

Also, I happened to watch a This Old House one night....there is now a clothes washer shutoff valve on a timer. Similar to a light timer, this valve bolts directly onto standard plumbing and if you open the valve, the valve automatically closes after 2 hours of not being touches. I want to install one, as this is my biggest fear of throwing in a load of laundry before leaving for work.

Good luck, hope the cleanup goes okay!

If the hardwoods are salvageable, hold off on the urge to get them sanded down until they have fully dried out. We had a minor flood in our kitchen from the ice maker water line that caused cupping to the boards near the refrigerator. It took several months for the cupping to settle down, even in Colorado's dry air. Now, you can hardly tell we had the flood. Had we sanded down the floors too soon, we would have had a reverse cupping issue as the boards dried out and settled back down.

A word of advice about "restoration contractors/companies" - make sure, if you do call, whether yourselves or through your insurance, that they send out technicians who are trained and certified in water/mold damage and IF they perform any contracting work that they are licensed. We had a horrible experience with the company sent out by our insurance that resulted in more damage (due to their lack of experience and knowledge) than the original water source - thankfully our insurance covered it all, but it has been a nightmare.

Regarding hardwood cupping - we were told by one flooring contractor that it could take as long as 9 months for the wood to actually dry and flatten out.

Good Luck!

Ditto what others have said. I'm SOOO sorry for inconvenience and potential damage.