Water Restoration in St. Louis

Living in St. Louis means dealing with unpredictable weather. From the flash floods that hit University City and Brentwood to the frozen pipe bursts common in historic St. Charles brick homes, water damage is a reality of life here. But when you walk down your basement stairs and hear that dreaded “squish” of wet carpet, or see water dripping from your kitchen ceiling, panic sets in.

At Fast Help, we know that panic personally. We aren’t a franchise owned by a private equity firm in New York. We are local owners who live in these same neighborhoods. We know that in our humid climate, a wet basement isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a ticking time bomb for mold.

When you call us, you don’t get a call center. You get us. We treat your home like it’s our own because, in many ways, we are protecting our own community.

The Science of Drying: Why “Air Drying” Isn’t Enough

One of the most common things we hear is, “Can’t I just open the windows and put some box fans on it?”

We wish it were that simple. The problem with water is that it is “lazy”, it follows the path of least resistance. By the time you see a puddle on the floor, the water has likely:

• Wicked up into your drywall (like a paper towel dipping into a cup).
• Soaked into the sill plate and framing studs.
• Trapped itself between the subfloor and your hardwood or tile.

If you just dry the surface, the moisture trapped inside these materials will stay there. In St. Louis humidity, that trapped moisture will begin to grow mold in as little as 48 hours. Our job isn’t just to make it look dry; it’s to make it structurally dry. This is important enough that if a homeowner does NOT do the nessisary steps to mitigate water damage, it can hurt a claim if filed later. 

We follow a strict, science-based process to ensure your home is safe.

1. The “Thermal” Inspection

We don’t guess where the water went. We use the later technology in thermal imaging and hygrometers. These tools allow us to see temperature differences in your walls and ceilings, revealing hidden pockets of moisture that the naked eye would miss. We map out the full extent of the damage before we even touch a piece of equipment. We welcome questions and the homeowners to be involved. We like to edjucate as well as inspect. 

2. Aggressive Extraction (The most critical step)

Drying takes time; extraction is fast. The more physical water we remove now, the faster your home is back to normal. We use submersible pumps for deep standing water, industrial vacuums for powerful suction, and weighted extraction mats to squeeze water out of carpet and hardwood floors from the bottom up.

3. Strategic Demolition (Only what is necessary)

This is where the “Corporate vs. Local” difference shines. Big franchises often make money by ripping everything out. We take a more tailored approach. However, some materials (like wet carpet padding or insulation) act like sponges and usually cannot be saved. We carefully remove only what is compromised to speed up drying and prevent mold, while fighting to save your expensive cabinets, baseboards, and flooring. Since we are there if there is anything you want thrown out, we are already making a trip to the dump. We welcome anything you need removed, within reason. 

4. The Drying Chamber

Once the standing water is gone, we turn your room into a drying chamber using High-Velocity Air Movers to blast air across surfaces and LGR Dehumidifiers to pull moisture out of the air. In some cases, we use heat drying to energize water molecules for faster evaporation.

5. Daily Monitoring & “The Dry Standard”

We don’t just set it and forget it. We return to your home every 24 hours to take readings. We measure the moisture content of the wood and the relative humidity of the air. We do not remove our equipment until your home meets the “Dry Standard”—meaning the materials are as dry as they were before the flood happened.

“Professional, kind, and they saved my basement. They treated my home like it was their own.”