Should I call a plumber or a restoration company first?
Call a plumber to stop the leak at its source. Call a restoration company to extract the water and dry the structure. The two trades cover different scopes and most jobs need both.
Plain English.
Plumbers and restoration companies do different work. A plumber fixes pipes and fixtures: a burst supply line, a failed water heater, a clogged sewer line. A restoration company handles what happens to the building after the water shows up: extraction, drying, documentation, demo when necessary, reconstruction back to pre-loss condition.
Most water losses need both. If water is still actively flowing, the plumber comes first because every minute of unchecked flow is another foot of migration into the building. Once the source is stopped, the restoration crew handles the extracted water and the wet structure. The two trades often coordinate on the same job — we work with whichever plumber you bring in.
If you can't decide who to call first: call us. We'll talk through the situation in 60 seconds and tell you whether to start with a plumber or whether we can dispatch directly.
Don’t wait if any of these are true.
Water is still flowing — the plumber phase is the immediate priority.
The water has spread to multiple rooms or migrated to the floor below.
Drywall, baseboards, carpet, or hardwood are visibly wet beyond the immediate area.
Avoid these — they make the loss worse.
- Don't wait for the plumber to finish before calling the restoration company on a large loss — both can mobilize in parallel.
- Don't accept a plumber's offer to "dry it out" with a household fan — that's not structural drying.
- Don't let a restoration company touch the source plumbing — that's a plumber's licensed scope.
In the field.
- Dispatches a mitigation crew within 60-90 minutes anywhere in Chicagoland.
- Coordinates with the plumber on site (or recommends one if you don't have one).
- Extracts standing water, dries the structure, and documents the loss.
- Hands off the reconstruction phase to its own crew once the building is dry.
What homeowners ask next.
Do you also do plumbing repair?
No. Plumbing is a licensed trade; we don't do source-side plumbing work. We coordinate with whichever plumber you bring in.
What if I can't find a plumber after hours?
Call us first. We can sometimes dispatch in parallel with a plumber referral, and we'll talk you through stopping the leak temporarily until the plumber gets there.
Reference material this answer draws from.
- IICRC S500 — Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification — Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration
Cited material informs EcoClean’s field practice. Excerpts from copyrighted standards are not reproduced on this page. Nothing on this page is legal, medical, or insurance-coverage advice.
Last reviewed by EcoClean field team — May 16, 2026.
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