Getting water out & drying now
First 24 hours, pumps, drywall, fans, bleach myths, and when to stop DIY.
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Status, maps, and claim portals change by the hour. Open the org site. Do not trust a screenshot from last night.
- CenterPoint outage map Action Center outage desk for CenterPoint territory. The older outage-center and outage-map paths returned 404 on 2026-09-21. Ignore viral ETAs. Downed line: stay back, call 911 and CenterPoint.
- Houston Public Works notices Boil-water and main-break posts. A 2022 lift page is not today's status. houstontx.gov/publicworks returned 404 on 2026-09-21. Recheck here or Houston OEM, then 311.
- Harris County Public Health County desk for flood mold, sewage, and cleanup illness. Not a shelter list and not a boil-water order.
- City of Houston 311 Debris rules, water, and non-emergency city services. Not a substitute for 911. Outside the city, this is the wrong desk.
- Harris County Flood Warning System Live gauges, rainfall, and inundation. Water can still rise after the rain stops.
- UTHealth Houston Harvey cleanup FAQ 2017 public-health FAQ. Check against current CDC/EPA before you treat it as today's rule.
- CDC: cleaning up after a flood Reentry, contaminated water, mold, and who should stay out of the work area.
- EPA mold and moisture When DIY stops and a pro should isolate the work zone.
Cleaning mud and silt without wrecking finishes
Silt is abrasive. Hose it off hard surfaces, do not grind it into hardwood, and keep the muck out of the drains you still need.
Dehumidifiers and fans: how many and where to point them
Fans move air. Dehumidifiers remove water. In Houston you need both, pointed at wet surfaces, not at your face.
Document everything before you throw it away
Shoot it, list it, then toss it. A wet couch with no photo is a shrug from the adjuster.
Electrical panels and water: do not DIY this part
If the panel, meter, or outlets went underwater, you do not experiment. Stay off the wet floor and call a licensed electrician.
First 24 hours: pull water, move stuff, start airflow
Get standing water out, lift contents off the slab, and start dry air. Houston humidity will not wait for the weekend.
Hardwood, laminate, and carpet: salvage vs rip-out
Carpet pad after floodwater is trash. Laminate usually is too. Hardwood might live if you dry it fast and it was not sewage.
Shop vacs, pumps, and what to borrow from a neighbor
Borrow a pump for depth, a shop vac for the film, and extension cords that are not sitting in the puddle.
Wet drywall, insulation, and when DIY becomes a mold factory
Wet gypsum and soaked batts in Houston heat become a farm. Cut, bag, and dry the cavity, or stop and call extraction.
What not to mix: bleach myths in flood cleanup
Bleach does not fix wet drywall. Never mix it with ammonia or many toilet cleaners. Soap, remove, then disinfect if you must.
When to stop DIY and call extraction
Stop when the water is sewage, the panel is wet, the house is more than a room, or you cannot drop the humidity.