*** Basement Flooding: Advice Needed ***
 

So last night, here in the Milwaukee area, we got about 5 inches of rain in a short period of time. My sump pump did a good job keeping up, but the city sewer system backed up leaving about 4 inches of standing water in my finished basement.

It all drained within an hour or two, but obviously the carpet and everything else down there is soaked.

What do the smart people of ChiefsPlanet recommend I do?

I have multiple fans and a dehumidifier running down there now. I'm considering going to Home Depot and renting a carpet cleaner to try to suck up the remaining water out of the carpet.

Two other problems I'm experiencing as a result:

1. No hot water. I'm assuming the water got to the pilot light on the hot water heater. I tried to relight it with no luck. Do I just need to wait until it dries out?

2. Can't get the wash machine (front loading, if it matters) to spin on spin cycle. We tried to use some big towels to soak up some water, and then were going to put them in the wash machine on spin cycle to help dry them out, but it won't spin.

To make matters worse, we're supposed to leave Sunday morning on vacation for a week. :(

HELP!

You're ****ed...

To the ship!

In all seriousness... I've had this issue a few times. Go rent a rug doctor and put the sanitizing chemical they offer in it. This will keep any mold/bacteria from growing on the carpet.

Secondly, the pilot light will likely work after it has dried, unless it's clogged. I think that some more modern water heaters may have a fail safe if the base get's wet, (In case of leak).

On the washer, you likely put in too many towles and the belt burned out or broke. Is the motor running when you put it on spin?

Call service master and your insurance company and let them deal with it. The carpet and pad have to be ripped out to get the concrete to dry or you have mold heaven. SM has the right dehumids and fans to do the job a lot better than you can.

Some insurance companies won't cover basement leaks.

(Trust me, I know)

I hate big leak

Nope, called the insurance company. Not covered by default...it's extra. My fault for not adding it when we finished the basement. :(

Yeah.... They might.
Mine wouldn't for a foundation leak...

****ing State Farm.

Fubar

I would get out all of your star wars, star trek & lord of the rings collectibles out IMMEDIATELY!!

You're talking raw sewage in your basement?

The area of the basement that's finished isn't huge. When we had the carpet installed a couple of years ago, I think it cost us about $1200. So, completely replacing the carpet will hurt, but is doable.

I'm more concerned if I have to replace other things (hot water heater, washer, etc.) along with the carpet.

Do I need to worry about the walls? I used moisture resistant drywall and styrofoam insulation. Like I said, it was about 3-4" deep so it may have barely reached above the trim...

With your humidity up there, be sure to have it checked for mold after you've got it dried out.

Might behoove you to call Pheonix restoration.

Then a letterbomb to your insurance company is in order...

Has anybody recommended antifreeze yet?

Do you have any type of wal covering? (Wall paper Waynescoating sp? etc.?)

If so, you're going to need to check the drywall. It will mold.