Well, it happened - water in basement!

Don M. said:
If you DO get all this fixed, I would strongly suggest that you sell this place, and move to an apartment....where the landlord will be responsible for any maintenance and upkeep.. After all...if you can't even mow the lawn, it's time to move on.
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Don I think your suggestion is a good one, but might cause her a significant loss of money.

I think her last home was sold as is due to years of not doing the upkeep & repairs needed. This one might fall into that same category

I don't know how laws work in N Y State but in PA. when we sold our last home any inspection flaws had to be disclosed. The choice was to makes the repairs or the selling price reduced to reflect the cost to repair. <---- That was if the buyer agreed & it was in writing. Getting all that is needed and documented. What she decides I don't need to know.
It's just interesting to follow the Deb threads where good recommendations are made & ignored.
 

I don't think it would have made any difference of the pump was working or not. Everyone around my neighborhood had basement flooding, some even worse than I had. Not everyone's pump could have failed.
 
I hope so. I am so tired of dealing with contractors who want a half a year of my income to tear out a carpet. The man next door, who is quite a handyman, said he and a friend of his could remove the carpet and paneling, give me 2 dehumidifiers and fix the sump situation. My insurance is only allowing me $5000 for water remediation and personal property loss (see attachment). My neighbor is doing it for around that price.

Everything is off kilter for me which is why I haven't been on the board lately (added to the fact someone called me a liar). My phone service was out and I had to have a service call to fix that. My lawn guy suddenly stopped coming and isn't answering emails or phone calls, so I had another neighbor do it. I used my last check to pay the mower and I'm out of checks at the moment. I immediately ordered more - that was August 19th and I still haven't received them (please - no lectures on debit or credit cards;) ). I guess it's payback time for having a relatively easy life up to this point.

I rented an dumpster and fortunately I don't have to pay him until he picks it up. Hopefully I'll have checks by then. If not I can get a cashier's check at the bank.

insurance estimate.jpg
 
Now my concern is that the 2 dehumidifiers, set at 60% humidity, are running constantly. I have to empty them every 4 hours (of course overnight they shut off when full). There is no more standing water and the carpet has been removed and vents cut in the paneling. Some web sites say not to let them run all the time. I put a humidity gauge down there and the last time I checked, it read ±65%.

One good thing, it's nice clear water and I can use it for watering plants.
 
debodun said:
Now my concern is that the 2 dehumidifiers, set at 60% humidity, are running constantly. I have to empty them every 4 hours (of course overnight they shut off when full). There is no more standing water and the carpet has been removed and vents cut in the paneling. Some web sites say not to let them run all the time. I put a humidity gauge down there and the last time I checked, it read ±65%.

One good thing, it's nice clear water and I can use it for watering plants.
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I have 2 dehumidifiers as I said already. One is in the barn and only turned on when it's raining to stop the humidity from affecting the freezer... but the other one is on 24/7 that's in the shed. It's been on for 5 years non stop except if I go away on holiday... it keeps the shed free from humidity . and that one has to be emptied every week or so... so I don't think you're going to have any problems keeping yours on 24/7 until you get this all fixed..
 
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hollydolly said:
I have 2 as dehumidifiers as I said already. One is in the barn and only turned on when it's raining to stop the humidity from affecting the freezer... but the other one is on 24/7 that's in the shed. It's been on for 5 years non stop except if I go away on holiday... it keeps the shed free from humidity . and that one has to be emptied every week or so... so I don't think you're going to have any problems keeping yours on 24/7 until you get this all fixed..
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Thank you for the comforting reply, Holly.
 
Update. Almost done sorting through things that were brought up. Between discarded items and the carpeting, I almost filled another 20 yard dumpster.

Good news - my bank checks finally arrived. It took almost 2 weeks!

I felt very badly that the man that tore up the carpet said the small bureau my parents had started housekeeping with was "damaged beyond recovery". He put it in the dumpster, but it must be buried under all the other things.

Just a memory now.

blond night stand.jpg
 
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I have almost everything that I brought up from the cellar that wasn't put in the dumpster dried out and back in the basement. I have a few fine touches to do. The mildewed encyclopedias have been wiped down with citrus cleaner and baked in the late summer sun for several days - thankfully we've had a stretch of warm, dry weather. Dehumidifiers are still running and I empty them every few hours. Humidity in the basement is now about 45%, but dang it, it still smells musty, but not as bad as when the wet carpet was there. The dumpster guy came and got it yesterday, so that is gone.

This weekend I plan on doing some long neglected housekeeping in the main part of the house. The garage could use some sprucing up, too. I freed up some space there by putting some things that were there in the dumpster.
 
I asked the guy that brought them to set them up to empty into the sump. He phoo-phooed that idea. I should be happy just to have them and it's good exercise climbing the stairs with a 5 gallon bucket of water.

BTW - why do dehumidifiers have such short electric cords? That limits where they can be put. All info I've seen online says not to use and extension cord with a DH.
 
Why would you waste your time and energy to save encyclopedias when they will just get thrown away when you are gone? Now’s the time to take advantage of having the dumpsters and throwing away items that no one in the future will ever use.
 

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