38111 · 38152, open 24/7
Student houses, small apartment buildings and older homes near the University of Memphis. We stop the water damage, dry the house out and keep students, parents and landlords on the same page.
University District
All of 38111 is in our area, from Normal Station and East Buntyn to Chickasaw Gardens, and on the streets around campus. Someone answers at any hour, and a crew typically arrives 2 to 4 hours after the call.
This is a young part of town. The typical resident in 38111 is about 32, and more than half of homes are rented: student houses shared by roommates, small apartment buildings and rentals owned by people who live elsewhere.
The houses are older than the people in them. Nearly two in three were built before 1960, many in the 1940s and 50s. Old plumbing plus tenants who moved in last month and do not know where the shutoff is: that is how a small leak turns into a soaked floor. Our Memphis crews have handled water damage since 1989.
Figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year estimates.
Around campus
Water damage near campus follows the school calendar more than the weather. These are the four times a student house is most at risk.
Move-in
New tenants, a washer someone else hooked up, and nobody knows where the water shutoff is.
Find the main valve on day one, and check the washer hoses for bulges before the first load.
Winter break
The house sits empty during the coldest weeks of the year. A frozen pipe can run for days before anyone is back.
Leave the heat on, and ask the landlord whether to shut the water off at the main while you are gone.
Spring break
Storm season starts. A roof or window leak while you are away soaks the ceiling and the floor below.
When you get back, look up at every ceiling and smell for anything musty before you unpack.
Move-out and summer
An empty house with the AC running all summer, and a drain line nobody is watching. Then a deposit argument.
Photograph every room on your way out, and tell the landlord about any stain or soft spot in writing.
Back from break to a musty smell? Water may have been sitting somewhere for weeks. A mold inspection shows if it spread into the walls.
Fire and mold
Shared kitchens and busy bathrooms bring their own trouble near campus. The same crew that dries out a leak handles smoke, soot and mold too.
Campus board
A pan left on the stove during a study night, and the smoke reaches every bedroom upstairs within minutes.
We clean the house itself. Laptops, clothes and books are a renters insurance question.
Four people showering in one small bathroom with no working fan, or a slow drip under the sink nobody mentioned.
Bleach on the spots hides them for a while. The damp behind them is what we fix.
Water shutoff
MLGW's advice for a burst pipe is simple: shut the water off at the meter or at the main valve inside the home. In a 1940s or 50s house, finding that valve is the hard part. Look for it now, on a calm day.
Turn it slowly, clockwise. If it will not move, do not force it. An old valve can break and make things worse.
Who owns which pipe
MLGWThe main and the pipe up to the meter
The ownerEverything from the property line to the house
Cannot shut it off? MLGW's 24-hour emergency line can turn off the water at the street.
Where the water line comes in
Usually on the front side of the house, the side facing the street. Look low on that wall, inside or under the house.
Under the house
In a crawl space house, the main valve is often just inside the crawl space opening, on the pipe coming from the street.
Near the water heater
Not the main, but its cold-water valve stops a leaking tank. Know both.
At the meter by the street
A box in the ground near the curb. Do not force a stuck valve there. Call MLGW instead.
Shared households
A leak in a student house can involve four roommates, their parents and a landlord across town. Here is who does what, so nobody waits on somebody else while the floor soaks.
Student or roommate
Parent or guarantor
Landlord or manager
Whoever calls, everyone works from one record of photos and moisture readings, so the water damage cleanup can start without a back-and-forth about what happened.
Why choose us
FAQ
Have a question that is not listed here? Call us and talk to a real person on our Memphis team.
38111, including Normal Station, East Buntyn and Chickasaw Gardens, plus the streets around campus in 38152.
Shut off the water if you can, keep texting and emailing the landlord so it is in writing, and call us if water is still spreading. We can stop the damage and document it while you wait to hear back.
Yes. A parent can call us directly. Photos and moisture readings can go to the parent, the student and the landlord at once.
Usually renters insurance, if you or your parents have it. The landlord's policy normally covers the building, not your things. Take photos before you throw anything out.
Yes. A quick check with moisture meters can show a hidden leak inside a cabinet or a wall, which is better found before the final walk-through than after.
Plan on most of a week with the fans running. Hardwood, plaster and a wet crawl space take the longest, and the meters decide when we pack up.
Whoever finds the leak can call: a student, a parent or the landlord. Give us the street near campus, and a crew comes out any hour.
Call now: (901) 459-6610