Flooded Basement - Any Advice?
 

Well, I woke up yesterday to 13 inches of water in my basement. The sump pump got overwhelmed and burned out. My property manager brought a pump and got the water out by today. But now I need to know how to properly clean up the mess. I'm concerned about things like mold and mildew. So is there a good way to dry and disinfect the place to make it usable again?

If it is starting to get dryer up there in MA, and you can open your basement windows, do so.

The key things to avoid here are humidity and darkness/

Fans, lights and dehumidifier or two will help.

Clorox bleach is now your new best friend - any exposed surface that mold can grow on and the bleach will not damage, (walls, studs, etc.), spray it.

Get anything that is movable and or not bleachable and wet out of the basement. Set it outside to dry if possible. One nice thing about cooler weather is the humidity is fairly low - things dry out pretty quickly.

Document everything for the insurance company...

AFJ

my parents had a leak in their brand new home last month. The key is, after cleanup, to have a few dehumidifiers running round-the-clock. You will be amazed at how much water they pick up.

Thanks very much for the advice. I have both of my dehumidifiers running now. The flood is gone and now there are only small puddles left. My property manager is worth his weight in gold. I have a couple of fans running as well to keep the air moving. Everything that got soaked is outside in a pile waiting for the garbage truck (I'm gonna have a private hauler dispose of it)...lots of soaked wood, boxes, etc. Fortunately, my tools and overpriced German auto parts were all stored high and dry. Whew! The basement is pretty well empty now so I guess I can go buy some bleach and start blasting it when it dries out. I also just dropped off my film of the flood at its worst for developing so I can document it for the insurance company. No idea yet if the boilers and water heaters got trashed.

My property manager and I just measured the high water point...23 inches. WOW.

I had 4 feet in my basement in Mass in 1996. Up in 3 hours, gone in three. I mostly just cleared everything out I could and let it dry. My basement was a dirt floor (1824 farm house, over a stream).

Get both of those checked ASAP. It will suck in a couple of weeks when it starts to get cold and you find out you have no heat.

"Property Manager"?

Are you renting or are these rental properties that you own?

This is a two family house that I own and live in. I must confess that living in one of my own rental units is sweet since I don't have to do the heavy lifting myself. I still do more house work than I probably should - but when it comes to the big stuff, I call in the property manager and he fixes problems fast. Today he got both boilers working and I finally have hot water. We'll still need a thorough inspection to make sure no damage was done to them, but they seem to work so I have high hopes. He installed a new sump pump and has heaters and fans and dehumidifiers going like mad down there. So now we are finally seeing dry spots in the floor. I guess the next step is to start throwing down the bleach.

My basement flooded in January during a freak torrential downpour in 70º weather. (It was below 30º the day before and after the rain.) Carpeting was ruined. Drywall got wet, although the high water line was about ½". I cut out and threw away the carpeting (which my insurance company yelled at me for.) and I sprayed a commerical mold killer everywhere. A shop vac took car of the rest.

We had a rider on our home insurance that covered a sump pump backup, which was the cause of our flooding as well. Our insurance covered the cost of the cleanup and new carpeting. Since we did the cleanup ourselves, we used the money to repaint.

Janus, Is your basement drywalled?

No drywall. The basement is unfinished. Nearly all of my stuff was stored up high. So unless the boilers were damaged, I don't see myself making an insurance claim. The boilers are my primary concern. And hey, if you know of a good commercial mold killer, I'll gladly give it a try. I was just planning to throw down some bleach.

The stuff I did lose was mostly minor. All of my workshop wood is gone - mainly some 2x4's, pine planks, particle boards, plywood etc. I had a pair of rear seats from my 911SC which were wrecked and probably worth all of about $2 in their prior condition. I lost some old, crappy rugs which were in the basement because they were crap to begin with. In other words, I mostly kept junk in the basement so no great loss. The tools are nearly all okay except for my floor jacks (which may or may not be okay) and my electric impact wrench which is also questionable. All in all it sucked not showering for three days but if my boilers are okay, then I'll be a happy guy.

I know how you feel. I've been pumping for days. The ground is so saturated around here that the water is coming UP through the drains and drywells.

I thought I could do a final clean up this weekend. Pumped 300 gallons out of the basement, then got it bone dry with the shop vac.

Went out for 3 hours and came back to 2 inches of water.

I've never seen it this bad.

Scott

MOVE.

Be careful with the bleach. It will react with the concrete (and potentially with residues of cleaners used previously) and will throw off chlorine gas. Make sure you have sufficient ventilation.

I'd suggest using a respirator designed to handle the fumes in any enclosed space even with good ventilation. Your local Home Depot or Lowes stores will have a respirator that should do the job -- it will probably be designated as an "acid gas" respirator.

Just got back my pics of the Great Flood. When I took the pics, it was only up to 13 inches. Fortunately, I never saw it when it was 23 inches or I would have cried. Note in the pic, the washer and dryer are on a riser up above the floor and still got wet. My floor jack in the bottom center of the picture never had a chance.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1129824816.jpg

Here is the pile of ruined stuff. Mostly junk so it is no big deal. I appear to still have heat and hot water. Note the 944 sunroof and 911 rear deck lid salvaged and drying out by the red stairs.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1129824839.jpg