Well, it happened - water in basement!

Get yourself a dehumidifier for the basement if you can afford to.

Long ago I learned that cardboard boxes are not only flimsy, they also attract critters like silverfish and spiders! So I upgraded all my long-term storage to plastic bins.

The BEST I have found over the years are the Rubbermaid brand, like these or the smaller versions: Rubbermaid 18gal Roughneck Storage Tote Gray

Many of the other, cheaper brands will crack and break over time. These do not.

Once you figure out what can be saved, upgrade to plastic storage containers. And Target, Walmart, Amazon WILL deliver them to you! One less hassle for you!
 
Michael Z said:
I have a portable generator for that purpose. Also a small submersible pump as a backup.
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small submersible pump - I think many people do not know they sell these pumps at Home Depot. Good to know when your kitchen, patio or basement are flooded.
 

We have a sump pump and it handles all the water except for one time 4 yrs ago when we got 7” rain in a short period of time. There was a bit of water temporarily. So there can be too much for a pump. We even have a walkout on one side of our basement (thankfully) so we are never underwater by much.
 
Things are starting to move on the basement. I did get an email from one of the water remediation businesses and they are sending out a technician on Friday morning. My insurance company called and, although the agent said they are not permitted to recommend any specific company for this service, I was covered, but with $500 deductible. She said it would depend on what the water damage company found was the source of the water.
I could answer that - RAIN!
 
I got curious about what the home inspector said in his report about the sump pump. He indicated it was functional, but needed a check valve. Somewhere between then and now, it stopped working.

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debodun said:
I got curious about what the home inspector said in his report about the sump pump. He indicated it was functional, but needed a check valve. Somewhere between then and now, it stopped working.

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You are so calm, I;m in awe... ... we share a birthday and therefore a star sign as you know..... we are traditionally fire signs... and I am going to tell you if this happened to me I would be freaking out !! :eek:
 
debodun said:
After fretting about mildewed books, we received over 4" of rain in 90 minutes Friday afternoon. My basement had about 2" of water. The fire dept was going around doing pump outs. When I saw the truck up the street, I went and talked to the driver. He came over and looked, but he said the amount I had didn't warrant a pump out.
It was next to nothing compared to other basements. I guess I'm on my own, but I have a LOT of things stored down there in cardboard boxes that are now soaked. Much of the basement is carpeted and now is squishy. Even if I brought the up, I have no place to put anything. There is also carpeting in 3/4 of the basement that is soaked. I did hand bail the sump. Since I never dealt with this before, I am not sure what to do. Probably insurance doesn't cover storm damage.

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I’m sorry to read about this. When you spoke about your neighbours basement getting soaked I worried about yours. Unfortunately your insurance ‘probably’ won’t cover it because you didn’t replace the sump pump. A sump pump is there especially for this type of thing. I hope you seriously consider getting a sump pump now. It’s not like you can’t afford it. $500 should be enough to fix your humidity problems and save your house from turning into a mould magnet.
 
debodun said:
I got curious about what the home inspector said in his report about the sump pump. He indicated it was functional, but needed a check valve. Somewhere between then and now, it stopped working.

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You ‘might’ be able to claim that you didn’t know it wasn’t working. Make copies of this and state that you didn’t realize this needed doing. It’s not really lying; you really didn’t realize how important this was. If you do this you really ‘will’ need to replace that sump pump to make your insurance work for you. Your house inspector was absolutely right. Your sump pump needed fixing. It’s too bad that he didn’t elaborate more about this.
 
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I don’t think these pumps are designed for a catastrophic situation. Years ago we had a tropical storm dump about 10 inches in a couple days. We had an unfinished 1000sq basement and ended up with 4 inches of water. We were on the highest ground in the subdivision and still… that poor pump was running non-stop and it still couldn’t keep up. This house was only a couple years old and well constructed. Fortunately, all our storage was in a third-story attic so no real damage.
 
debodun said:
I got curious about what the home inspector said in his report about the sump pump. He indicated it was functional, but needed a check valve. Somewhere between then and now, it stopped working.

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They make a good point about inspection. I found ours to be non-functional last winter and replaced it well ahead of the time needed when late winter rains cause a need. It is not a bad idea to even have a spare pump on hand. If you need a pump when everybody else needs one, you might find them to be all sold out.
 
debodun said:
The most troubling thing it seeing how much damage water can do in the wrong place. I am going to have to toss many precious items, but lesson learned - use plastic storage bins and keep things off the floor. That's one reason I bought the house was because it had a dry cellar and that year was a wet one.
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It cost a bit to switch everything to plastic bins but well worth the investment. All our stored items are in colour coded storage bins with labels on the side, stating what’s in them.
Water can do mega damage. You’ll probably need help taking the carpet out.
 
debodun said:
Everyone says sump pumps are easy to install - yeah, if you know what you're doing. With my skill set, I'd get it upside down, inside out and backwards.
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Hire a contractor to purchase a new one as well as a good dehumidifier. He could also help you sort out all your stuff and throw the carpet out. You really need to get rid of that as soon as possible before it gets full of mould. It will be money WELL SPENT.
 
I wouldn’t get carried away with spending a lot to waterproof or make improvements to the basement if this is the first real problem you’ve had in three years and if you don’t use the basement as living space.

Make the hard decisions and get rid of everything that’s not going to the nursing home with you. 😉

Remove the carpet, get a sump pump, dehumidifier, and a couple of pallets to keep the bare essentials up off the floor.

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I tried email and phone calls. Emails are unanswered and their phones just ring and ring. You'd think they'd have an answering machine.
 

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