SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Diane Hopp says she doesn't have a green thumb, so if her neighbors were around, they might be surprised to see her spraying a garden hose -- particularly in December inside the living room of a newly renovated home.

"It really bothers me to see all this mess, and that we did it," she said.

The insurance agent from Petersburg, Ill., was one in a line of hose-wielders helping to christen the small frame structure on the edge of downtown Springfield -- fondly nicknamed "flood house" -- as part of an unusual experiment to assist the untold thousands who bemoan indoor flooding from the showers of spring and the burst pipes of winter.

The owner of the house, Peerless Cleaning and Restoration Services, says it is one of just a few "flood houses" it knows about.

The company intends to flood it twice a month to help insurance agents know better what to do when a client calls, help real estate agents more readily spot long-ignored problems that spawn mold, and teach would-be technicians to run vacuums and moisture meters.

The firm promised that within days the custom rebuilt structure -- outfitted with its own industrial strength sprinklers and spigots sticking out of the walls -- would be bone-dry and ready to be doused again for the next demonstration.

Michael Barry, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, said Americans generally underestimate the chances they'll be hit by unwelcome water. He said he hadn't heard specifically of "flood houses," but applauded efforts to teach homeowners and agents what's at stake.

"Any time you can expand public understanding of the risk a homeowner faces, it's a good thing," Mr. Barry said.

According to 2009 data from State Farm Insurance Cos., water damage was the second-leading cause of insurance claims in Illinois. Wind was first, crime was third, and a different kind of water devastation -- drain and sewer backups -- was fourth.

Decatur, Ill.-based Peerless thinks its novel "flood house" laboratory will add depth to classes like "Hands-on Water Damage," which they offered in December to nine insurance agents and assistants needing continuing education credits. Company officials said they know of a handful of such houses around the country and had seen a couple, but not outfitted like theirs.

The company bought and remodeled the house last summer for about $90,000, adding carpeting, a restored hardwood floor, and fresh paint -- all ready to be drenched.

At the December class, the insurance agents took turns with the hose, saturating the carpet, then returned to test water extraction methods, from the hardware-store bought wet-dry vac to a Segwaylike riding machine that professionals use.

The high-end model sucked nearly all the water out of not only the carpet, but the pad underneath.