Flooded basement: pain relief tips
Having a flooded basement is not a pleasant experience. You have a couple of options, you can try to tackle everything yourself or you can contact a company that specializes in basement flood treatment. If you plan to seek professional help, call immediately, as if your basement has flooded, others have too and will be busy. Time is of the essence here to try to save as much as you can. For those of you who are on a tight budget and can’t afford to hire a company, here are some tips and easy steps to take to make the most of a bad situation.
The first thing to do is see where the water reaches your home. Is water entering through your foundation, is water entering through a sewer or backup sump pump, is your sump pump running, or has the power gone out or has your sump pump completely drained? These are all questions that you should try to solve. If you’ve determined that water is entering through anything other than a sewage build-up or sump pump problem, then you need to locate any drains you may have on your basement floor. Many homes, especially newer homes, have a backup drain, which will be clogged near your hot water tank. Many homes also have a floor drain near your furnace where a PVC pipe from your furnace / air conditioner drains excess water.
If you can locate any of these drains, open them all the way. This will help to quickly lower the water level in your basement. You can use a broom or broom to help move the water down the drains. Now if water is entering through a sewer or sump pump failure, then getting the water out of your basement may be a bit more difficult for you. Opening the drain covers and holes will most likely not help you in this situation because the water is already clogged and opening these drains could cause the water level to rise even higher. If this is the case, you will most likely need to pump the water out of the basement. They sell items that can do this at most home improvement stores, like Home Depot, Lowes, etc. If you need to pump your basement water, you may want to seriously consider asking for professional help.
The next step is to salvage everything you can that has not been affected, submerged, or subjected to too much water damage. Get anything of value and any salvageable items and bring them upstairs right away. Dry them as best you can and definitely don’t plug in or use any electronic devices that may have taken a little water for a few days until you are sure they are completely dry. This will give you the best chance of keeping these items working.
If you have a finished basement and the flooding can be reduced quickly, chances are you will have very limited damage to your finished basement. There is also a good chance that your carpet can be salvaged too. The carpet padding will need to be removed, but the carpet can be dried and repositioned on new padding once the basement is completely dry. Once the basement water has been drained, get a vacuum from the store or preferably a few (loaned to neighbors and friends) and have a couple of people vacuum the water from the carpet. You will need to go over the carpet very well several times to get most of the water out of the basement. At this point, you’ll want to lift the rug up and get rid of the padding underneath. Again, you will have to buy the vacuum cleaner after this to remove all the excess water.
I highly recommend bringing some high-powered fans to your basement, as well as a couple dehumidifiers to help dry everything out and absorb moisture. You can contact neighborhood equipment rental stores (such as Home Depot) to rent some sturdy carpet fans to dry your carpet. However, keep in mind that if your basement has flooded, chances are many others have too, and you’ll want to call the rental location or stop by right away to make sure they have something left. After throwing out the padding and drying the floor, you’ll want to reposition the carpet on items such as boxes to keep your carpet elevated while turning on the high-powered fans and dehumidifiers to completely dry the carpet. Once your carpet has completely dried, you can purchase a new padding, lay it down, and have your rug re-laid as well. You may need to clean your carpet to remove the musty smell, but following the steps above can save you a tremendous amount of money.
Call and ask your friends and family if any of them have the supplies you need or if they can help you before you buy something. Having a flooded basement can be a very unpleasant experience, but if you handle the situation quickly and properly, it is very likely that you can get out of this situation without too big a “hit on your wallet” and without saving a good part of your belongings . from your basement.