Flooded Basement: Dry it out fast

Flooded Basement: Dry it out fast and right.

When you have a flooded basement, no matter what the cause—a super storm like Sandy in 2012, floods like in Colorado during 2013, or the more usual and all-too-common burst washing machine hose, ruptured ice maker line or frozen pipes—the key to keeping your home healthy is to dry it out. Before mold and mildew have a chance to start growing.

In many cases getting the lion’s share of water out of a flooded basement can be as simple as sweeping standing water with a push broom into a sump-pump hole and letting the pump eject it from the building. I’ve also used a wet-dry vac to suck water up that I dumped outdoors or down a utility sink drain. Bigger, more catastrophic floods—say, a sewer line back up or flood—may contain toxins like bacteria or chemicals from outside the home. Eliminating the water may require anything from pool pumps to a professional service.

If you’re not sure about what’s in the water, a professional service will have all the fans and air movers necessary for fast dry-outs of a flooded basement and they’ll have protective equipment as well.

But if you’ve got consistently wet floors or walls—often the case in old homes, homes near water like a stream, homes where there’s a high water table, and homes with crawl spaces—you’ve got a flood of a different order. It’s more like a slow leak that can wreak long term havoc on your health and stuff.

If the relative humidity stays at 60% or higher, you’ve got a situation where wood can start rotting and mold, mildew, must and muck can take over.

The key—whether you’re talking flooded basement from storm or sewage or from a slow leak—is to keep the space dry using a system-built dehumidifier. One that runs quietly, powerfully, and huuuuugely important in a flooded basement clean-up, has multiple stage air filtration like the Santa Fe dehumidifier we have. This is especially important in crawl spaces where dirt, moisture and framing lumber are within a few feet of each other.

Dry and humidify.

Mark

A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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