38116 · 38109, open 24/7
Pipes that split in a hard freeze, creek water after a storm, a drip nobody heard in an empty house. We handle water damage across Whitehaven and Westwood, day or night.
Whitehaven and Westwood
Short answer: yes, we handle water damage across Whitehaven (38116) and Westwood (38109), day or night, usually with a crew on site in 2 to 4 hours. Burst pipes, storm water, a leaking water heater or a slow drip in an empty house, we pump it out, dry the structure and leave you with readings and a free quote.
What makes this part of Memphis different is the mix below: mid-century houses, a lot of rentals and empty homes, electric heat and two creeks. Each one changes how water damage starts. Our Memphis restoration team has worked across the city since 1989.
Hard freezes
Memphis does not freeze often, so a lot of houses are not built for it. When a hard freeze does come, the phone calls start when it thaws.
February 2021
A winter storm froze and broke dozens of city water mains. Crews had to shut the water off at thousands of homes with frozen, burst pipes.
January 2024
Days below freezing led MLGW to put every customer under a boil water advisory. Reports described dozens of main breaks and thousands of burst pipes in homes and businesses.
Sources: MLGW statements reported by WKNO (2024) and the Commercial Appeal (2021).
Houses from the 1950s to the 70s often have supply pipes in outside walls, in the attic or under the house, with thinner insulation than a new home. Those are the pipes that split. The good news: a few minutes of prep prevents most of it.
Before the freeze
When it thaws
A burst line can put a lot of water on the floor in an hour. Our emergency water removal crews work day and night through freeze weeks, when a lot of houses need help at the same time.
Beyond water
The crew that handles burst pipes in 38116 and 38109 also cleans up after small house fires and removes mold.
Fire
Cold snaps bring space heaters and extension cords out in a lot of Whitehaven homes, and a small fire can follow. What it leaves behind is soot, smoke smell and often water from the hoses.
Mold
An air handler pan that overflowed for a week, or a pipe that dripped in a house nobody visits, is how mold usually starts here.
Heavy rain
Whitehaven drains through creeks that rise fast in a hard storm. Most houses never see creek water. The ones close to the low spots can see it more than once.
Starts just east of Whitehaven High School and runs about 14 miles to Nonconnah Creek. Heavy rain has flooded several Whitehaven neighborhoods along it, and the city has studied the basin since 2015.
Source: Tri-State Defender, 2018
The larger creek Days Creek drains into. In June 2019 it hit a record 27.5 feet at Winchester Road, beating the 1975 mark.
Source: Action News 5, 2019
If storm water gets inside
Outside water is handled with our flood damage restoration process: pump out, muck out, tear out what it ruined, clean, disinfect and dry.
Vacant homes
About one home in six in 38116 is empty right now, and about one in eight in 38109. Some are between tenants. Some belong to a family that inherited them. Some are waiting on a sale.
In an empty house, nobody hears the drip. A small leak can run for weeks, soak the subfloor and grow mold before anyone opens the door. By then the cleanup is much bigger than the drip ever was.
If you look after an empty house, this simple schedule catches most problems early. The single best habit: turn off the main water valve whenever nobody is living there.
| When | What to check |
|---|---|
| Every visit | Walk every room, look up at the ceilings, open the cabinets under the sinks, sniff for a musty smell. |
| Every month | Run each faucet and flush each toilet, check the water heater pan and the floor around the washer. |
| Before a freeze | Set the heat to at least the mid-50s, or shut off the main and open the faucets to drain the lines. |
| After a big storm | Check the ceilings below the roof, the garage floor and the low side of the house for water. |
| Anytime the bill jumps | A water bill that suddenly climbs at an empty house usually means water is running somewhere. |
Found water? We can meet you or your agent at the house, day or night.
Heating and cooling
Two out of three homes in 38116 heat with electricity, which usually means a heat pump with an indoor air handler. All summer, that unit pulls water out of the air and sends it down a thin drain line.
In Memphis humidity, algae and dust clog that line. The pan fills, overflows, and the water goes wherever the unit sits. It is one of the most common causes of water damage in homes and apartments with an indoor air handler.
The hall closet
An air handler in a closet sits right on the floor. When its drain pan overflows, water spreads under the carpet and into the bottom of the walls.
The attic
An air handler in the attic drips onto the ceiling below. The first sign is often a brown ring around a light or a vent.
The drain line outside
A small pipe near the outdoor unit should drip in summer. If it stays dry while the AC runs, the line may be clogged.
Who does what: an HVAC technician clears the line and checks the pan switch. We dry the floor, the walls and the ceiling, and check for mold behind them.
Why choose us
Water damage here follows the calendar: freezes, storms, humid summers and houses that sit empty. We are ready for each one.
Burst pipes in outside walls and attics. We answer around the clock, and the water comes out before anything else.
Creek and street water is dirty water. We pump it out, remove what it ruined, then clean, disinfect and dry.
An air handler pan overflows into a closet or a ceiling. We dry the floor, walls and ceiling and check behind them.
We meet you, a family member or your agent at the house, and send photos and readings for the insurer.
FAQ
Have a question that is not listed here? Call us and talk to a real person on our Memphis team.
Yes. Our Whitehaven area covers 38116 and 38109, which takes in Westwood, Walker Homes, Boxtown and Westhaven.
Shut off the main water valve if you can reach it, then call us. We can meet you or a family member at the house, pump out the water, dry the structure and document everything with photos and readings for the insurer.
Usually not. Creek or street water coming in from outside counts as flood damage, and that needs flood insurance of its own. A burst pipe inside the house is a different kind of claim.
It can be. That water usually comes from a clogged drain line or a full pan, and it soaks into the carpet pad, the subfloor and the bottom of the walls. Have the line cleared, then let us check how far the water spread.
Yes. Tell the property manager right away so they can stop the water upstairs. We can dry your unit, and the manager or landlord usually arranges the work for the building.
Drip the faucets on outside walls, open the cabinet doors under sinks, know where your main shutoff is, and keep the heat on. In an empty house, shut the water off and drain the lines.
We answer 24/7 for Whitehaven and Westwood. Give us the street and what the water is doing, and a crew is on the way.
Call now: (901) 459-6610