Our basement flooded!!! Who do we call?? archived

Do you have a sump pump that just isn't working? You could also try to open the sewer clean out. Though that could make matters worse (poopy) if the sanitary sewer is backed up.

Did your sump pump fail? First step would be to call a plumber to fix it...

When ours flooded we called SERVPRO.com - SERVPRO® Cleanup Service‎
Adwww.servpro.com/‎(866) 595-6078
The cleanup masters at SERVPRO® are on the job 24/7. Call us Today!

They did a great job but very expensive. Around $3K. Was not covered by insurance. I know there are others that are cheaper but they came, they did.....

All carpet had to be ripped up.....Sheetrock removed up to flood level. Terrible time.

Good Luck to you and sorry.

Call plumber first. They'll know right away whether it's a sump pump thing or a sewer line thing. Then you need to call a Servpro-type place. The plumber will probably have a favorite.

This sucks and will make you miss renting, but it will also put some hair on your chest (figuratively).

How deep is the water? The fire department will often help by pumping it out. That said, I don't think the rain was that bad to cause significant basement flooding.

Sump pump failure sounds like a good guess. Do you know if you have a sump pump and if is it plugged in?

Do you have a plumber yet?

we also had water in basement after we bought out house a few years ago. We found out it was becasuee of a gutter that was covered and the water was backing up into the house. by accident we found the covered gutter drain when we were doing landscaping and cleaned it out. this was 99% of our problem solved with no money spent.

I am so sorry!!!! Have been there and it is a miserable experience. We used Water Emergency Technologies, 160 Broad Street in Summit. Telephone number is (908) 273-8901 I forget the guy's name but they were great!

They washed and sanitized the floors treated all the affected areas with Microban, Temporarily installed dehumidifiers, dryers and air scrubbers. Then after they removed the equipment, they tested all areas for moisture/mold. Very through and professional.

Then we called Gregory Waterproofing and had french drains and a new sump pump put in. Best of luck to you!

Call your homeowners insurance carrier without delay and see if they provide any remediation services. They may also want to send an adjuster out to look at the situation and see what kind of damage you might be covered for. After our basement flood during Irene, our insurance carrier did not provide any actual remediation assistance but they did compensate us for much more than we had expected.

^
|
|
| THIS

When our basement flooded with several feet of water (water heater malfunction during a long weekend vacation), the Maplewood FD came and pumped it out and checked for gas/electric potential problems (they were fantastically helpful!). Then we contacted our insurance company which immediately sent out a remediation team from a contractor they use for this sort of thing. Their assessor showed up maybe the next day (out of Maryland, so it involved some travel time) and took it from there. They were easy to work with and very responsive. It was a mess to live through, but the insurance and remediation went smoothly and without any major issues.

Hope your problem isn't as bad, but the FD is a good starting point - for safety as well as for getting the water out of the basement). Then, I'd call the insurance company and see what and who they recommend.

Watch out for any live electrical lines that might have been exposed to water.

It's important to define "flooded". I've spoken to some local home owners who get inches of rain whenever we get a storm and they just shrug their shoulders, and don't care. Whereas we had a puddle and I nearly had a nervous breakdown, then had French drains / sump pump installed. That sump pump has only turned on during Hurricane Irene.

I get a little water around the edges of my basement when we have a lot of rain. I don't worry about it but it freaks the cat out! She goes downstairs and howls until I come down and see what happened...

MOL has been the recipient of my many freak-outs due to our periodic basement water problems. We recently bought a box of industrial spill absorber "sausages" and they really helped during the last few days of heavy rain. @KristinK100K I truly sympathize with you, we have been there and done that. Welcome to the flooded basement society. Please report back when things settle down.

All good advice here. Only thing I might add is to take some pictures of the damage, just in case, for the insurance company. So many of us have had similar problems over the years. We all sympathize with you. What caused the flood? (Various possibilities: sump pump failure, water heater leak, burst pipe, split washing machine hose.) Good luck.

bluepool said:

...industrial spill absorber "sausages"...

explain, please.

grahamb said:

bluepool said:

...industrial spill absorber "sausages"...

explain, please.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Pig-PIG238-Polypropylene-Absorbency/dp/B00BUBU6Z2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396287386&sr=8-1&keywords=new+pig+absorbents

After you clean up you might also have a contractor come out and take a look. The problem may be as simple as a misdirected gutter drain.

Definitely take pictures and call your insurance company. They might or might not want to send out an adjuster. They might also tell you not to wait for the adjuster if you need immediate remediation.

I've used ServPro, but not one of the local franchises. They have emergency service, which costs more, but the most important thing is they know what to do and can get going fast to mitigate the damage.

Just to give you an idea, our leak had apparently been happening over the weekend, don't know exactly when it started. By Monday a.m. we had a bit less than 2 feet of water throughout the entire basement, which was finished (wooden paneling, raised wood flooring - didn't like it, but that's what was there when we bought the house). The fire department pumped out most of the water. The remediators showed up with giant fans and dehumidifiers (4 or 5 of them) that had to run continuously for 72 hours. After that, most of the items down there had to be chucked. Paper items were now papier-mache, upholstered furniture was soggy and squishy and not salvageable. After the insurance company adjustor had evaluated it, at least one dumpster was filled with the items that had been there. They hoped to save the paneling and flooring, but since this happened in August (a few years ago), they were worried enough about potential mold issues to recommend ripping everything out. We were down to the cement subfloor, the cinderblook walls, and our 35-year old boiler which had somehow survived reasonably intact.

I learned that closed plastic containers do NOT stand up to flooding and lost a lot of craft supplies and school supplies that I'd brought home for the summer.

So, any remediation should probably include fans, dehumidifiers and the insurance adjusters should be checking for mold issues. If your washer/dryer/hot water heater/furnace or boiler was partially submerged, have those checked out before you try to use them. If you had any electric outlets that were under water, you'll need an electrician to evaluate the damages. Please be super-careful - that's the one thing everyone who worked on our flood kept telling us. Things are only things, but your safety and your family's safety is most important.

I just realized I never thanked everyone for the advice. Crisis averted last month, I suspect we won't be as lucky this time around. But thank you all!!!!!

Help! We have lived here 12 years and have always gotten a trickle in our basement with heavy rain - sometimes puddles. Even with Irene, we didn't have full floor coverage. But tonight we discovered several (3?) inches of water in our basement, and the forecast is for rain all night. We don't have a sump pump- just a dehumidifier, which I just unplugged. Much of our 'stuff' is on shelves, and what's not, is submerged. What I'm worried about is going to bed if the water will rise overnight to a level that is dangerous with the oil burner and hot water heater. Should we be calling the fire department now?

cody said:

I learned that closed plastic containers do NOT stand up to flooding and lost a lot of craft supplies and school supplies that I'd brought home for the summer.

Like Rubbermaid Tote bins? I always assumed they would be fine.

My Mom's bsmt sometimes takes water. I put the washer/dryer up on a pedestal. Same with sink cabinet and water softener. Furnace is set up on 4 paving blocks. Water heater has its own base [4-6"] French drain is capturing what is running down walls and is flowing to the sump pit which,thank God,is pumping it out the way it was designed.Heading there now. Be well all.

jennylou said:

Help! We have lived here 12 years and have always gotten a trickle in our basement with heavy rain - sometimes puddles. Even with Irene, we didn't have full floor coverage. But tonight we discovered several (3?) inches of water in our basement, and the forecast is for rain all night. We don't have a sump pump- just a dehumidifier, which I just unplugged. Much of our 'stuff' is on shelves, and what's not, is submerged. What I'm worried about is going to bed if the water will rise overnight to a level that is dangerous with the oil burner and hot water heater. Should we be calling the fire department now?

How did you make out overnight?

About 1.5 inches. We've been cycling through towels, waiting for Home Depot to open to get a wet vac!

KristinK100K said:

About 1.5 inches. We've been cycling through towels, waiting for Home Depot to open to get a wet vac!

FYI: "Our" Home Depot (Valley & Springfield) is flooded and closed.

I think nearest Home Depot is closed and so would one on rt 22, both bc if flooding...maybe one on rt 10 - they should be open by now

I just saw that thread. Rather ironic!

mjh said:

KristinK100K said:

About 1.5 inches. We've been cycling through towels, waiting for Home Depot to open to get a wet vac!

FYI: "Our" Home Depot (Valley & Springfield) is flooded and closed.

AGAIN! :-( They really need to work on the drainage issue. The last time they were flooded, HD was closed down for awhile and the loss of merchandise was unbelievable.