How To Get Your Basement Dried Out
Whether the downpours soak your carpet or leave you
standing water several
feet deep, avoid entering a flooded basement until you:
Shut off electricity or call the utility. (Do not rely on a power failure as
power can come back suddenly.)
Check outside walls for structural damage.
Turn off gas to the house.
Wear protective gloves, boots.
It's also a good idea to take pictures for insurance purposes.
For starters, get rid of the water
If you have several feet of standing water, don't remove it too quickly as
the water may be bracing the walls against the pressure of waterlogged soils.
Quick removal could cause a cave-in. Rent a pump to remove large quantities or
check to see if your fire department provides pumping. Shovel out the muck and
hose down walls and floors to clear the silt.
If the water level is not high, use a mop or wet/dry vacuum to remove as much
water as possible.
If your basement floor is carpeted, discard the carpet pad (it's cheap to
replace) and place the carpet on blocks, or something that won't absorb
moisture, to dry.
Set up a dehumidifier and fans. If the carpet isn't completely dry within 48
hours of getting wet, discard it. Machine wash or dry clean area rugs.
- Remove valuables
- Haul out anything you have stored and discard as much as you can.
- Prevent mold
Once water is removed, you have a 24- to 48-hour time window to clean, dry
and sanitize the basement and furnishings before mold starts to grow.
Mold
destroys building materials and can trigger allergies and cause flu-like
illnesses. Once it starts to grow, most items aren't salvageable.
Remove visible dirt on hard surfaces with a soapy solution. Then decontaminate
by scrubbing with a solution of one-half cup of chlorine bleach per gallon of
water. Use hand-held garden sprayers on large surfaces. Wear gloves and goggles
and do not mix bleach with other cleaning products. Keep area ventilated. Do not
rinse -- let it dry on the surface. Use the wet/dry vac to pick up excess.
Gut wet walls, because wallboard, paneling, insulation and other such building
materials will not dry quickly enough to prevent mold and rot.
Toss anything that is not completely dry within 48 hours.
So you can't tackle the job?
Please contact us for all of your flood restoration and
insurance
restoration needs!
