Water Damage Cleanup in Winston-Salem, NC

Profyce is a free referral service. Your call goes to an independent local provider; Profyce does not do the work itself.

If there is standing water in your Winston-Salem home right now, stop the source if it is inside the house, then call the number below. You will be connected to an independent water damage crew that works in Forsyth County. There is no charge for the call.

For a burst pipe or a failed appliance, close the main valve. In Winston-Salem it is usually in the basement, the garage or outside next to the foundation, according to the city utility. Open a faucet on the lowest floor to let the pressure out, and shut off the water heater once the supply is closed.

If the water came from a creek, a storm drain or the ground, leave it alone and focus on safety. Kill the breakers for flooded rooms only if the panel is dry and you can stand on a dry floor to reach it. Photograph everything before you move it. Then get rugs, furniture legs and anything electrical up off the wet floor.

What makes Winston-Salem different

Winston-Salem has an unusual amount of mapped floodplain for a Piedmont city. The City’s floodplain management documents put mapped floodplains at more than 18,000 acres, over 7 percent of Forsyth County, with the current digital flood maps in effect since January 2, 2009. More than 9,000 Forsyth properties sit in flood hazard areas, and the county has taken part in the National Flood Insurance Program since 1968. Because the city participates in the Community Rating System, policyholders get a 10 percent NFIP premium discount.

The creeks drive most of that. Peters Creek runs about 7 miles before it empties into Salem Creek, and most development in the county drains toward the Muddy Creek watershed. Sections of Salem Creek and Muddy Creek are on the state’s impaired list. In a long rain those channels fill fast, and water that cannot get to the creek backs up through yards, parking lots and crawlspaces.

November 12, 2020 showed how that plays out. Remnants of Tropical Storm Eta dropped 3 to 8 inches across central North Carolina in two days. In Winston-Salem, the fire department evacuated 38 people from Colonial Estates apartments, crews used inflatable boats at Creekwood Apartments, and a retaining wall collapsed on Meadowlark Drive. Two years earlier, Hurricane Florence put 3.74 to 6.22 inches on Forsyth County over September 13 to 17, 2018, with 4.54 inches at Smith Reynolds Airport.

If you want to know whether your lot is in a mapped floodplain, the Stormwater Division at City Hall, 101 North Main Street, keeps past flood records and elevation certificates going back to 1993. FEMA’s map assistance line is 877-336-2627, and Forsyth County Emergency Management is at 336-917-7070. For a blocked storm drain or a drainage problem on your street, the city asks you to call CityLink at 311.

Insurance is the part that surprises people. The North Carolina Department of Insurance says a standard homeowners policy excludes flood, and it also does not cover sewer or sump backup unless you added an endorsement, or seepage into a basement. Flood coverage is a separate NFIP policy. Nearly 30 percent of flood claims come from outside the special flood hazard areas, so a house well away from any creek is not automatically safe. The NCDOI consumer line is 855-408-1212.

Then there is the indoor water. Winston-Salem’s housing stock is 45.3 percent pre-1980 by the 2024 American Community Survey, and older supply and drain pipe fails more often. Winters add to it. The city says pipes are vulnerable at 20°F and below, and the December 2022 Arctic blast pushed Greensboro to 5°F. A split pipe in a crawlspace can run unnoticed for hours.

Crawlspaces matter here for drying. Advanced Energy, a Raleigh research group, found in a Department of Energy sponsored study that closed crawlspaces stay substantially drier than wall-vented ones in humid conditions, and the group notes that many crawlspace homes already have poor moisture control before any flood. Expect a crew to spend time under the house, not just in the rooms you can see.

Common water damage problems in Winston-Salem

• Creek and stormwater flooding. Low ground near Peters Creek, Salem Creek and the Muddy Creek drainage takes on water during events like Eta in November 2020. This water is treated as contaminated, and anything porous it touched usually has to go.
• Frozen pipe bursts. A line in an unheated crawlspace or garage splits during a 20°F night, then floods the house when it thaws. The December 2022 cold snap is the recent benchmark.
• Sewer backup. Sewage in a tub or floor drain is Category 3 under the IICRC S500 standard, meaning grossly contaminated. Homeowners coverage generally excludes it without an endorsement, per NCDOI.
• Roof and window leaks during multi-day rain. Storms like Florence in September 2018 push water through flashing and under shingles. The S500 Consensus Body’s 2026 position is that wind-driven rain and other weather-related water is not automatically Category 3, which changes how the crew handles it.
• Wet crawlspace after heavy rain. Water pools under the house, soaks insulation and floor joists, and feeds mold that spreads upward. Vented crawlspaces in humid weather are slow to dry on their own.
• Water heater and appliance failures. A tank heater or a washing machine hose lets go while nobody is home, and the water finds the lowest room. Older pipe in pre-1980 homes raises the odds.
• Slow leaks found late. A drip inside a wall of a Washington Park or West End house can stay hidden for weeks. By the time the drywall stains, mold is often already growing.
• Mold after a missed drying window. The EPA says materials dried within 24 to 48 hours usually will not grow mold. After that, remediation becomes a separate job with its own price.

What it might cost

Water damage pricing depends on the square footage, how dirty the water was and how long it sat. The figures below are national ranges from Fixr and Bob Vila, not quotes. The independent company you reach sets its own rates for Winston-Salem, and Profyce does not set, review or guarantee them.

• Water damage restoration, whole job: $1,200 to $5,000 (Fixr) or $1,305 to $5,707 (Bob Vila).
• Extraction and drying, clean Category 1 water: $3.75 to $4.25 per square foot (Fixr).
• Gray Category 2 water, such as from a washing machine or dishwasher: $4.10 to $6.50 per square foot (Fixr).
• Black Category 3 water, including sewage and creek flooding: $7.00 to $7.50 per square foot (Fixr).
• Drying a 500 square foot basement with no repairs: $2,000 to $7,000 (Fixr).
• Flooded basement cleanup: $2,000 to $7,000 (Fixr).
• Mold remediation: $1,500 to $9,000, or $10 to $30 per square foot (Fixr).
• Burst pipe repair by a plumber, separate from cleanup: $200 to $1,000 (Fixr).

Ask the crew for a written scope that lists the rooms, the water category and the number of drying days before the equipment comes in. If you plan to file a claim, ask whether they bill the insurer directly.

Who answers when you call

Your call forwards to an independent water damage company that covers Winston-Salem. Profyce does not do cleanup, does not employ the crew and is not a licensed or insured contractor. Get the company name on the phone, and if the job involves plumbing repair, ask for the plumbing license number and verify it at the state board’s search page: public.nclicensing.org. Any project valued at $40,000 or more also requires a licensed general contractor in North Carolina, according to the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors.

Common questions in Winston-Salem

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