If the worst has happened and you’re dealing with a burst pipe or leaking appliance, you need to act fast to prevent escaped water causing serious damage.

Your first step will always be to stop the flooding, turning water off at the mains and isolating any affected appliances, taps or fixtures. With the immediate crisis over, it’s then time to think about protecting your belongings and getting an escape of water insurance claim sorted.

Here, we’ll run through what you need to do in such a situation, including steps to take first and how Kiwi Storage can help you with flexible, affordable storage until you can move everything back in.

Escape of water claims - what to do first

In a stressful situation like a water leak, it can be hard to know what to do first. Here’s what the Property Claims Loss Assessors (PCLA) advises you do immediately after you notice a problem:
1. Turn off the mains water supply and isolate any appliances. If water is near any electrical appliances, light fittings, sockets or the consumer unit, don’t touch any switches. You should only turn electricity off at the mains if it’s completely safe to do so.
2. Before you do anything else, take photographs of the source of the leak, spread of water and any damage.
3. Once the scene is documented, you can move furniture, rugs and belongings out of harm’s way.
4. Use towels or containers to manage or slow the spread of water.
5. Call a plumber or other professional to temporarily resolve the problem. It’s important not to have any permanent repairs or reinstatement carried out until you’ve spoken to your insurance company. You should also keep all your plumber call-out records, invoices and notes.
6. Notify your insurer - they may send a loss adjustor out to carry out an inspection.

Your next priority: Get your belongings to safety

With the cause of the problem temporarily dealt with (or a plumber on the way) and your insurer notified, you’ll now need to do all you can to minimise damage to your furniture and belongings.

Ideally, you’ll need everything out of the way. Clearing the area allows damage to be assessed, water to be cleaned up and plumbing repairs carried out. It’s also useful to have a clear space in the likely event that flooring needs to be pulled up and replaced.

This is where Kiwi Storage comes to the rescue. We have multiple solutions for fast, convenient temporary storage.

If you have access to a large enough vehicle, you can simply book one of our London self-storage units online and drop your stuff off. This is a good option if you have a large volume of items to store, such as the contents of a cellar or the whole of the ground floor.

Alternatively, we can come to you. We offer mobile storage, where we bring a storage unit right to your door. Here’s how it works:
1. You book a collection, choosing your preferred date and time
2. We drop off the storage unit - one or more of our 35sqft Kiwi Cubes (depending on how much space you need)
3. You fill the unit
4. Our team takes it to one of our secure nearby storage facilities until you need it.
5. You can get on with your insurance claim and repairs
6. Book a date for delivery when you’re ready to move everything back in - we’ll drop off your unit right at your doorstep.

We aim to make it as easy and convenient as possible to arrange your temporary storage. This is already a stressful time, so you don’t need storage to be an additional hassle.

We have a friendly, professional team along with clean, dry and fully secure facilities, so you can be sure that your belongings will be safe until they’re returned to their rightful places. And if you need anything at all or have a question, our team is always on hand to help. Call 020 8264 0550 or get in touch online if you need to arrange storage asap, or book your mobile storage
online.