Flooded basement Dos and don’ts
It may be tempting to go downstairs and start handling things yourself but many things can make that dangerous or end up making things harder for the plumber or water damage specialists that come to do work.
Here are some of the dangers that can arise from going into the flood waters:
Water being such a good conductor of electricity makes it quite a hazard if the water is high enough to reach any outlets or if there are any plugged in extension cords or power strips on the floor.
The water could be contaminated by either the dirt outside if it is water coming in, or by sewage if it’s a plumbing back up, or by anything that may be in the basement.
If the water has been sitting long enough before it’s noticed, it may start hosting mold growth which can be dangerous to breath in.
Some of these things may seem helpful, but may make things more difficult for the techs that come out to help:
Putting towels, blankets, or mattresses in the water to help absorb. Trust me, we’ve seen a lot of things be put in flood water to try to help dry it up, but all this will do is add another thing for us to get water out of so we can remove it from the area.
Using a shop vac or buckets to try to remove some of the water can help but the dangers listed above can make it not worth the risk of doing this yourself. Also, depending on the amount it may not make enough of an impact to be worth the effort.
There are some things you can do in the event of a flood:
If your breaker isn’t in the basement or where the flood water is shut the power off to the basement. If possible shut off any gas downstairs as well.
Make some phone call. Call your insurance to get a claim going, take note of your adjuster’s name and phone number and your claim number, this information will help us keep the insurance company up to date with work done and cost of mitigation. Next give us a call and a plumber if you know the source is a plumbing issue. Do note you can use any plumber or mitigation specialist you want, you don’t need to use the people the insurance company works with.