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Every service · Alderwood Manor, Washington

Four emergencies. One local owner who shows up for all of them.

Water, fire, sewage and mold. Whatever is happening in your house right now, Ray has done it a few thousand times in Puget Sound homes — and he will be on the job himself.

  • On site in an hour or less
  • IICRC certified crews
  • Based in Alderwood Manor, Washington
  • We bill your insurance direct
Ray unloading a dehumidifier from the Absolute Water Damage van

20+

Years restoring Puget Sound homes

< 60 min

Typical arrival, day or night

65+

Communities covered

24/7

Owner-answered phone line

Partially collapsed living room ceiling with insulation and drywall piled on the sofa and ottoman
01

Do not wait for insurance

You have full rights to stop the progression of water without an estimate. Waiting is what turns a claim into a fight.

Moisture meter reading 100 percent on an exposed wood stud
02

5 days to mold

In the Northwest a wet structure will not dry on its own. Mold can start growing in as little as five days.

Great room stripped to the subfloor with exposed TGI joists overhead and air movers drying
03

Secondary damage isn't covered

If drying isn't started promptly, carriers can deny the damage that follows. Speed protects your money.

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What every job includes

The parts that never change, no matter which service you need.

One number, any hour

Ray answers his own cell at 3am. No answering service reading a script back to you.

IICRC certified, top to bottom

Every technician trained to a published standard, so the work is defensible to your carrier and to the next buyer of your home.

Xactimate scope, billed direct

We write the claim in the same software your adjuster uses, then bill the carrier directly in most losses.

What we handle

Water, fire, sewage, mold. One crew that has seen all of it for 20 years.

Each loss needs different equipment and a different protocol. We are IICRC certified across all four, and Ray runs every job personally — tap yours to see exactly what we do.

Pick your emergency

Not sure which category you are in? Here is what we get called for most.

If what is happening at your house is on this list — or close to it — you are in the right place. Call and describe it. Ray will tell you what is urgent.

  • Burst or frozen pipe
  • Water heater failure
  • Washing machine or dishwasher overflow
  • Toilet or sewage backup
  • Roof or storm leak
  • Flooded basement or crawl space
  • Fire and smoke damage
  • Slab or supply line leak
Call (206) 856-3173

The six-step process

Exactly what happens after you hang up the phone.

No mystery, no surprise invoice. This is the same sequence we have run on thousands of Puget Sound homes, using the latest equipment and IICRC-published standards.

Real job · 0:05

What was behind the drywall

Opened one wall, found this. Mold starts in days — this is why we check every cavity before anything gets closed up.

  1. 01

    You call Ray directly

    No call center, no dispatch queue. The owner's cell rings, 24 hours a day.

    Fallen ceiling drywall and wet insulation covering a sofa and leather ottoman
  2. 02

    Inspection & assessment

    Infrared cameras and moisture meters find the water you cannot see — including behind walls and under floors.

    Pinless moisture meter reading 99 percent on a painted wall
  3. 03

    Water extraction

    High-powered commercial vacuums, or submersible pumps in extreme cases. The faster it's out, the less you lose.

    Flood-cut drywall with insulation exposed and air movers in the great room
  4. 04

    Sanitize the area

    Anti-microbial biocide applied to affected surfaces to stop bacteria and mold before they start.

    Crawlspace with batt insulation between floor joists and black vapor barrier below
  5. 05

    Drying: air movement & dehumidification

    Air movers, dehumidifiers and heat set to a real drying plan — not guesswork.

    Dehumidifier set by the stair landing in the family room
  6. 06

    Monitoring until it's actually dry

    Daily readings, documented for your insurance, until every material hits dry standard.

    Moisture meter reading 55 percent on drywall next to a corner

Before & after

Two houses Ray was called into on their worst day.

Same homes, a week or two apart. No staging, no stock photography — just what a documented drying plan and a crew that shows up in the first hour actually produces.

Before and after comparison of a water damaged living room restored by Absolute Water Damage

7 days

water out to finished room

Lynnwood · supply line failure

Two inches of water on the floor Friday night. Family back in the room the next week.

A second-floor supply line let go while the homeowners were at dinner. Water came down through the ceiling and across the entire living room. When Ray walked in, the carpet was floating and the baseboards were already wicking.

  • Truck-mount extraction started within 40 minutes of the call
  • Ceiling opened only where readings demanded it — the rest dried in place
  • Six air movers and two LGR dehumidifiers on a documented drying plan
  • Daily moisture logs sent straight to the adjuster; claim approved without a fight
Before and after comparison of a mold damaged basement remediated by Absolute Water Damage

0

square feet unnecessarily gutted

Everett · long-term basement seepage

The basement nobody wanted to go into — cleared, sealed and handed back.

This one had been wet for months before anyone called. Microbial growth had spread across the framing and the smell hit you at the top of the stairs. Two other companies quoted a full gut.

  • Containment and negative air before a single piece of material moved
  • Antimicrobial treatment on every square inch of salvageable framing
  • Non-salvageable porous material bagged and disposed of to IICRC standard
  • Air quality and odor verified before the containment came down
Partially collapsed living room ceiling with insulation and drywall piled on the sofa and ottomanBefore
Restored living room with new ceiling, paint and hardwood floorAfter

Case study · Bothell, January 2024

Water ran for 11 days. We were there the same evening.

A catastrophic freeze caused extensive water damage throughout a Bothell home while the owner was out of the country. The heat had been turned down, allowing the home's piping to freeze and rupture. Water ran for 11 days before a neighbor noticed it flowing out of the roof soffits.

11 days
Water ran before a neighbor noticed
Same evening
On site the night of the call (Jan 19)
93%
Relative humidity in the living room

Field notes

A loss, hour by hour, in Ray's own words.

Four photographs from real Alderwood Manor, Washington area jobs, and what was happening in the minutes around each one.

Technician extracting water from a wet hardwood floor with a commercial machine
Hour one

The wand does not stop until it comes back dry.

Most of the water you can save a floor from is gone in the first two hours. This is why Ray loads the extractor before he even knows what he is walking into — every minute of pumping is a board you do not replace.

Technician inspecting exposed wall framing with a flashlight and moisture meter
Hour three

Every stud bay gets a light and a meter on it.

Water travels sideways through framing and sill plates. If a bay reads wet and gets closed anyway, you are paying for the same repair twice next spring. So we check them one at a time and write the numbers down.

Technician securing a microbial hazard containment barrier with blue tape
Contaminated losses

Plastic, tape, negative air, and a sign on the zipper.

Sewage and mold work is isolated before anything else happens. Tools get decontaminated on the way out. Your kitchen, your kids' rooms and your HVAC never meet what is behind that barrier.

Technician pushing a commercial dehumidifier through a doorway with the branded van outside
Every job

That is our van in your driveway — not a franchise sub.

Family owned for 20+ years. When you call the number on this page, the man who shows up is the man who answered. He unloads his own dehumidifiers and he is there when the readings hit dry standard.

Talk to Ray now

Every call goes to the owner's cell

What is on the truck

The equipment that decides whether your floors get saved.

Trucks stay loaded so nothing has to be picked up on the way to you. This is what rolls up to a Alderwood Manor, Washington driveway at 3am.

Technician carrying an air mover beside the branded vanTechnician moving a commercial dehumidifier through a doorway

Truck-mount extraction

Pulls standing water out at volume so drying can actually start on day one.

LGR dehumidifiers

Low grain refrigerant units pull moisture out of the air, not just move it around your framing.

Air movers

Placed to a plan and angle, so evaporation happens where the readings say the water is.

Infrared cameras

See temperature differences behind walls so we open only what has to be opened.

Penetrating moisture meters

Numbers instead of guesses — logged daily and sent to your adjuster.

Hardwood floor drying mats

Pull water up from underneath boards so floors can often be saved instead of replaced.

Negative air and containment

Keeps contamination and dust inside the work area and out of the rest of your home.

Air scrubbers with HEPA

Cleans the air your family is breathing while the work is happening.

On camera

Watch what an hour-one response actually looks like.

Most restoration companies show you a finished room. We would rather show you the middle of the job, because that is where losses are saved or lost. Tap for sound.

Real job · 0:05

What was behind the drywall

Opened one wall, found this. Mold starts in days — this is why we check every cavity before anything gets closed up.

Real job · 0:18

Extraction, up close

Black water pulled straight off the subfloor at the toilet flange — the wand doesn't stop until the meter reads dry.

Swipe for the next clip →

  • Black water, burst pipes, mold — handled the same night, not next week
  • Every reading and photo goes into the file for your insurance adjuster
  • Ray answers his own phone and is usually on site inside the hour
Call (206) 856-3173

Turn the sound on — it's the real job site.

Ray moving drying equipment into a home with the Absolute Water Damage van outside
Ray checking framing moisture with a flashlight

Ray's promise to you

“You get me. Not a call center, not a franchise, not a stranger.”

Absolute Water Damage has been family owned and locally operated for over 20+ years out of Alderwood Manor, Washington. When your phone call comes in at 2 am, it rings on Ray's personal cell — and he is the one who pulls into your driveway.

He will tell you honestly what has to come out and what can be dried in place. He will document every reading for your carrier. And he will not talk about money before your house is safe.

  • Owner on site at every single job
  • IICRC-certified technicians
  • Xactimate insurance billing, direct to your carrier
  • Green products, safe around kids and pets
(206) 856-3173Open 24 hours — every day of the year

Before we get there

Five things to do in the next five minutes.

Do what you safely can, and leave the rest to us. Nothing here is worth getting hurt over — Ray is already on the way.

Technician extracting water from hardwood flooring
  1. 01

    Stop the water if you can do it safely

    Main shutoff, appliance valve, or the toilet stop behind the base. If you cannot find it, call and we will talk you to it.

  2. 02

    Kill power to wet rooms

    Only from a dry spot at the panel. Never stand in water to reach a switch or breaker.

  3. 03

    Lift what you can

    Get furniture legs, rugs, electronics and boxes up off wet flooring. Photograph everything before you move it.

  4. 04

    Do not start tearing out

    Cutting drywall or pulling carpet before it is documented can cost you on the claim. Let us photograph and measure first.

  5. 05

    Call Ray

    (206) 856-3173. Any hour. He will tell you what is urgent and what can wait, even before anyone is dispatched.

Call Ray now

Open 24 hours — every day of the year

IICRC certified crews

Neighbors who called Ray

The reviews all say the same thing: he showed up.

5.0

Rated by Puget Sound homeowners

“Had a tree fall on my roof, nightmare situation but Ray helped out more than Allstate ever did!”
Daniel Grabstein

Daniel Grabstein

Seattle, WA · Google

“Our water heater let go at 11pm and Ray answered his own phone on the second ring. Crew was in the driveway inside the hour with extractors. He walked me through the insurance claim line by line and we were dry in five days.”
Megan Ellsworth

Megan Ellsworth

Lynnwood, WA · Google

“Supply line burst under the kitchen sink while we were out of town. Ray found water two rooms away with an infrared camera that nobody else would have caught. Saved us from a mold problem, no question.”
Marcus Whitfield

Marcus Whitfield

Bothell, WA · Google

“What I appreciated most was how little they tore out. Other companies wanted to gut the whole basement. Ray dried it in place, documented every reading, and the insurance adjuster accepted it without a fight.”
Grace Tanaka

Grace Tanaka

Mill Creek, WA · Google

“Sewage backup in the downstairs bath — awful. They showed up in full gear, sealed it off, sanitized everything and the smell was completely gone. Ray checked in on us for a week after. Genuinely kind people.”
Alicia Moreno

Alicia Moreno

Edmonds, WA · Google

“Christmas morning, dishwasher line split, water under the whole kitchen floor. Ray picked up on a holiday and was here in 45 minutes. Who does that? He never once talked about money until the claim was already approved.”
Brett Callahan

Brett Callahan

Everett, WA · Google

“Our crawl space had standing water for who knows how long. Ray crawled under there himself with a light, showed me photos of every joist, and explained what was salvageable. Zero pressure, zero upselling.”
Linda Nakamura

Linda Nakamura

Shoreline, WA · Google

“Upstairs toilet overflowed into the ceiling below. They had containment up in twenty minutes and the drying equipment running before I finished making coffee. Daily readings emailed to me and to the adjuster.”
Diego Ramirez

Diego Ramirez

Kirkland, WA · Google

“I am 71 and I was panicking. Ray talked me down on the phone, told me exactly which valve to shut off, and stayed on the line until he pulled into the driveway. He treated my house like it was his mother's.”
Carol Whitby

Carol Whitby

Mountlake Terrace, WA · Google

“Small kitchen fire, smoke through the entire house. The odor was gone completely — not covered up, gone. They cleaned the ducts, sealed what needed sealing, and coordinated the rebuild with a contractor they trusted.”
Renée Adjei

Renée Adjei

Bellevue, WA · Google

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Service area

Based in Alderwood Manor. Rolling across the whole Puget Sound.

From Stanwood to Federal Way, Camano Island to North Bend. If you are inside this footprint, we are typically at your door in under an hour.

Alderwood ManorLynnwoodEdmondsMountlake TerraceBrierBothellKenmoreMill CreekMeadowdaleWoodwayShorelineLake Forest ParkEverettMukilteoMarysville+51 more

Straight answers

The questions homeowners ask at 2am.

If yours isn't here, just call. Ray would rather talk you through it than have you guess.

(206) 856-3173

No — call us right away at (206) 856-3173. You have full rights to stop the progression of water without waiting for an estimate. An estimate is only required by insurance for putting the house back together. Delaying can actually work against your claim: carriers can find a homeowner negligent for knowing about water and not acting.

In most cases we are on site within an hour, anywhere in the greater Puget Sound area. We answer 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year.

Most sudden-loss water damage is covered. We use Xactimate — the same pricing structure the insurance industry uses — and in most cases we bill your carrier directly instead of you. If you have no insurance, we will work with you.

Most water damage situations dry within five to seven days, often faster. We monitor moisture daily and document readings so nothing gets closed up while it is still wet.

Only what genuinely has to come out. We specialize in minimal-disruption drying techniques and dry in place wherever the materials allow. Category 3 (contaminated) losses are different — porous materials there must be removed for health reasons.

That is the single biggest mistake homeowners make. Water travels, and most water damage is not visible to the naked eye. We bring infrared cameras and moisture detection equipment to find it behind surfaces before it becomes mold.

Mold can begin growing in as little as five days after a water loss. If growth has already started, it needs professional remediation — we will assess it and tell you honestly what you are dealing with.

We work with several trusted general contractors across the area and can recommend the right one for your situation once the structure is dry.

Every hour costs money

Tell us what's wet. We'll be there before it gets worse.

Fill this out and we'll call you right back. If water is moving right now, skip the form — call Ray directly and he'll dispatch while you're still on the phone.

Open 24 hours — every day of the year · Alderwood Manor, Washington · 20+ years serving the Puget Sound

Step 1 of 3 · The problem

What's happening?

Ray calls back fast, 24/7 · We bill your insurance

Active flood right now? Call (206) 856-3173

Yes, our technicians are IICRC certified: what the S500 water damage standard covers

Yes. Our technicians are IICRC certified, and every one is trained to a published standard, so the work can be defended to your insurance carrier and to whoever buys your home next. For water damage, the IICRC's published standard is the ANSI/IICRC S500. It sets out the procedures to follow and the precautions to take when restoring water-damaged buildings and the property inside them.

Certification matters to you mainly through the paperwork. On remediation jobs, we hand photographs, moisture logs and post-remediation verification to you and your carrier before we leave. We write the scope in Xactimate, the pricing software insurers use, so it holds up with adjusters instead of getting picked apart.

If you're ready to get started, call (206) 856-3173. We answer 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also send a request online.

  • The IICRC lists the fifth edition (2021) of S500 as current, now under revision. It covers homes, commercial and institutional buildings, their systems and contents.
  • The science: microbiology of water damage, health effects of microbial contamination, building materials, and psychrometry and drying technology.
  • The fieldwork: equipment and instruments, antimicrobial (biocide) use, and safety and health.
  • The paperwork: inspections and pre-restoration evaluations, project documentation, and risk management.
  • Special cases: structural repair, HVAC, contents restoration, and large or catastrophic losses.
  • S500 treats finding and fixing the source of the water as the owner's job. You can still hire the restorer or another specialist to do it.
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