Safe shutdown, drying and inspection support for furnaces and water heaters that were under floodwater or sewage.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Furnace and water heater flood damage is water or sewage that has reached a heating unit or water heater, which can damage its controls, burners and wiring. Syracuse Water Damage Restoration helps shut the area down safely, dries the space around the unit and records the water line for the technician who inspects it.
A furnace or a water heater that sits in a basement is at the lowest part of the house, and it is the first thing that water meets when it rises. The water can reach the burner, the gas valve, the electrical controls and the motor. Some of those parts are not designed to be wet, and a unit that was under water should not be started until a technician has inspected it.
The first step is safety. Gas, electricity and water are all in the same room, and the wrong move can cause a fire, a shock or a gas leak. Keep the unit off, call a technician for its inspection, and call (833) 490-5225 for a crew to deal with the water around it.
A furnace that was under water should not be run until a technician has inspected it. Water can damage the burner, the controls, the wiring and the gas valve, and those parts can fail or become unsafe.
The burner and the controls are made to operate dry. Water can leave a film of silt or corrosion on them, short out the wiring or lock the gas valve, and a unit that starts with those problems can fail or leak gas. The technician checks each of these before the unit is returned to service.
The owner should not try to start the unit to test it. A test by a homeowner can damage a part that the technician could have saved, and it can create a hazard in a room that is still wet.
A water heater that has been under water needs its gas or electrical controls and its flue checked, and its tank and fittings checked for leaks. The unit stays off until a technician has confirmed it is safe.
A gas water heater has a burner and a flue that must work correctly. Water in the burner area can cause corrosion, and the flue must be checked for blockage and damage. An electric heater has elements and controls that need to be dried and checked for shorts.
The tank is inspected for leaks at its valves and connections. A leak that appears after flooding may come from a fitting that was loosened by water pressure or silt, and the technician will know which parts to check.
The floor and the wall behind the unit are dried, since moisture there can feed corrosion and mold. The crew reads the floor and the lower wall, and it dries the cavity behind the unit before the space is closed up.
The area around the unit is pumped and cleaned. Silt and debris are removed, and the floor is dried with air movers and a dehumidifier. The readings are taken on the wall behind the unit, since that is where moisture tends to stay.
The crew does not dry the unit itself. Its interior is for the technician to inspect and, where needed, clean, and the crew's job is to dry the space around it and keep the moisture from returning.
Tell the technician the depth of the water, the time it was found, whether the water was clean or sewage, and whether the unit was submerged. That information changes what the technician checks and whether the unit can be safely used.
The technician needs to know whether the unit was under water or only wet at its base, since submersion affects the parts differently. Sewage in the area changes the handling of the unit and its surfaces, and that should be said at the start.
Show the technician the water line on the cabinet and the photographs, and keep the readings. A technician who has that information can make a clear decision about the unit, and the note goes into the record for the insurer.
Coverage for a furnace or water heater after a flood depends on the policy and on the cause of the water. Standard policies often exclude flood water, and the terms of the policy decide whether the equipment is covered.
Ask the insurer how it treats the equipment in a flood, and whether the cause of the water changes the answer. A sudden internal leak and a flood from outside can be treated differently, and the policy wording is the reference.
Keep the technician's report, the photographs and the readings. The New York State Department of Financial Services is the state regulator for insurers, and a dispute about how a claim is handled can be raised with it.
If you smell gas, leave the building and call the gas company or the emergency number from outside. Do not switch lights or appliances on or off in a room with a gas smell, and do not run a furnace or water heater that was under water until a technician has inspected it.
Turn the gas shutoff valve to the unit and the electrical supply at a dry panel. If you smell gas or can see that the panel is wet, leave the building and call the gas company or the emergency number.
A furnace or a water heater that was under water is not restarted by the homeowner. A technician checks the burner, the controls, the wiring and the gas connections before the unit runs again.
The crew pumps out the standing water around the unit and removes the silt and debris so the base is clear. Water that was in the unit's cabinet is noted, not pumped through it.
The floor and the wall behind the unit are dried, since the moisture there can feed corrosion and mold. The readings show when the area is dry enough for the unit to be checked.
The water level on the cabinet and the wall is photographed and marked. The record goes with the inspection, so the technician knows how far the water rose.
The furnace base or lower cabinet sits in water. The burner and the controls are the parts most at risk. A technician inspects the unit before it is run, and the gas and electrical systems are checked before the unit is used again.
The tank and its connections are wet at the base. The gas or electrical controls and the flue are checked, and the tank is checked for leaks from its valves and fittings before it is put back into use.
The unit sits in contaminated water. The area is cleaned and disinfected by the crew, and the technician notes that the unit was in sewage, since the cleaning of its surfaces is a separate job.
The cost of this work depends on the depth of the water, the number of appliances and systems in the room and how much of the area must be dried. The unit's own inspection and any repair are priced by the technician who does them.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Water removal around the unit | Quoted on site | Depends on the depth and the area affected |
| Cleaning and drying of the floor and wall | Quoted on site | Depends on the square footage and the wall readings |
| Water line photographs and readings | Quoted on site | Part of the drying record |
| Furnace or water heater inspection and repair | Quoted by the technician | Not part of the drying job |
Your exact cost is confirmed on site before any work starts. The inspection and repair of the unit are priced separately by the technician who does them.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
A basement furnace or water heater is at the lowest point of the house, which is where storm water and sewer water reach first. The units are often the first things a basement flood touches, and a crew checks their area before any other part of the room.
Syracuse's storm-driven flooding can put water in a basement quickly, so the unit may be wet before the owner has seen the water. A technician should check any unit that was under water, even if the water seems to have gone down on its own.
A unit in a room that lies beside a creek or a storm drain has the same exposure as the rest of the basement, and the crew reads the lowest part of the room first.
Fast removal of standing water from homes in Syracuse and Onondaga County, any hour of the day.
Structural drying with air movers and dehumidifiers for flooded basements, with readings logged at every visit.
Water removal and drying for leaks from washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and water heaters in Syracuse homes.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Not until a technician has inspected it. Drying the room does not clean or test the burner, the controls or the gas valve, and a unit that was under water can fail or become unsafe.
Do not drain or open a water heater that was under water until a technician has checked it, especially if the unit is gas or the power is still uncertain. The technician will say whether draining is needed.
That depends on your policy and the cause of the water. Read the terms, and ask the insurer to explain in writing how it treats equipment damaged by flood water.
The crew dries the area around the unit. The inside of the furnace or water heater is inspected and, where needed, cleaned by a technician, since those parts need specific handling.
Wait until the technician has inspected and cleared it, and until the area is dry. A rushed restart is the most common way a flooded unit causes a second problem.