Three months ago I posted how we had a minor flood in our basement due to a problem with a pipe in our neighbor's yard (only about 1/2 of one bedroom got wet, and we were able to dry out the carpet and mat quickly.)
Well, two days ago, imagine my surprise and horror when I went down in my basement to grab something and heard what sounded like a WATERFALL coming from the window of that very same bedroom! It was so awful! The whole carpet (and all the furniture we were storing in there) was drenched in gallons of water, plus the water seeped under the wall into the neighboring bedroom and down the hallway as well. I called Alan first to ask him if he could come home from work and then he and I both made phone calls to neighbors to get some help.
We had about 7 or 8 people come to help clear out the water in the window well (it was 2/3 full--likely from a sprinkler problem in our own yard this time--we haven't had time to diagnose it yet, although the water outside is turned OFF) and also the rooms in the basement. We ripped up the carpet completely in one bedroom and then got fans blowing in the other room and the hall. People who came to help were so nice! Seriously. Several of them stayed several hours and one couple in my ward even left to bring back a couple of pizzas and some root beer. Wow.
Yesterday, after talking to a couple of people that had dealt with floods I got all freaked out about mold in the drywall, so we decided we needed professional help. We called our home insurance company and had them send out a restoration company, whom we are paying a LOT of money to use their big fans and de-humidifiers for three days. They also sprayed some kind of anti-microbial cleaner under all the carpet that is still intact downstairs. We are going to have to repaint the room ourselves, replace the carpet padding ourselves, and get our carpet re-installed (we saved it--it is currently draped over our big playground in our backyard. I hope it doesn't rain soon.). Furniture is scattered all over the basement and I sort of hate the chaos that our basement will be in for the next couple of months until we get this all sorted out. As anyone else who has had flooding knows, it is totally lame.
I'm having kind of a lousy week.
6 comments:
I am so sorry that happened! How horrible! I hope you are able to sort everything out soon.
Flooding is the worst.
One thing that can help you discover a problem early on is water alarms. When they detect water, they beep like a smoke detector. Now you can get fancy ones that will even send you a text message. They're great for alerting you to problems in areas you're not likely to see immediately, such as utility rooms and basements.
Good luck on your restoration.
Man that stinks that you've had another flood! Good thing you get to see me tomorrow so your week will end on a high note! :)
So sorry Bill! Basements are nice, until they flood. I'm glad you had nice people to help you!
Oh, man! Thank goodness for helping neighbors!!
Bleck. You have my sympathy. Especially for twice in a 6 month period. I hope you're able to get back to normal sooner than later.
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