What To Do When Your Basement Floods

7/14/2020 (Permalink)

If your basement is affected by a flood as a result of stormy weather or malfunctioning machinery or appliances, it can create a lot of problems for the homeowner. Basements are very often used for storage, and items such as books, photos, electronics, and textiles can be difficult to manage when they are water-logged and damaged. We here at SERVPRO of North Nashville have some tips to help you out!

Act quickly to handle the situation, but make sure safety is always your first concern. If you have a large amount of standing water in your basement, call your power company, electrician, and/or your professional water damage cleanup team immediately, while keeping everyone away from the area to avoid injury. Exposed wires in water are not to be tampered with, for obvious reasons! Experienced professionals will be able to determine the best, and safest, steps to take in beginning the cleanup process without increasing the risk of fire damage from the exposed wires.. 

While you are waiting for the pros, you can do a few things that can be helpful. A shop-vac can clean up smaller amounts of standing water while using dehumidifiers and fans will move air around, and that discourages mold growth and mildew. Make sure to keep them at least 8 inches away from walls to allow for the best circulation. Your air conditioning can be a big help here, too, so it should stay running in the rest of the house. Don’t turn on a window unit in any basement windows if it’s flooded. 

Scrub hard surfaces with a solution of one cup bleach to one gallon of water while wearing gloves and protective eyewear. Remember to keep the room ventilated, too.

If your valuable documents or papers have been affected, you can actually save them by placing them in the freezer. This may stop the growth of mildew or deterioration until you can take a better look at them. Storing important items in the basement may not be your best practice, but if you don’t have space anywhere else, then using air- and water-tight plastic bins should help protect your items if your basement floods again. 

Here at SERVPRO of North Nashville, we are always ready to help if you are affected by water damage, fire damage, or other disastrous events. We handle large cleanup projects for commercial business owners and smaller projects for area homeowners. We’re mold remediation specialists, too!