Flooded Basement Tips From A Pseudo-Expert

Flooded basements are common problems for homeowners who live in a highly precipitated-area. I have had my share of flooded basements in the past but through experience learned the hard way, I have become a pseudo-expert in dealing with flooded basements. Let me tell you my story.

I had my first experience with a flooded basement a couple of months after I purchased my house. I never knew that basement flooding would be a problem that I would have to tackle with from time to time until I found myself staring at a pool of water 2 inches deep inside what was used to be my new basement.

Perplexed on what to do, I called my ever-handy dad who lived at a neighboring state on what to do. His first advice was to make sure that the main electricity is switched off before I start wading through the flooded basement's waters to clean up and dry the place. So that's exactly what I did.

My dad's instructions also included renting a pedestal sump pump or an industrial wet vacuum to suck most of the water before drying the floor with a mop. One important advice he gave me was to rent a gasoline powered pump rather than an electric one to prevent from being electrocuted due to wet electrical outlets in the flooded basement.

According to my dad, mold and mildew easily grow on moist and damp places and that these can cause respiratory problems if I would let them thrive in my recently flooded basement. The best way to get rid of them was to scrub the wall areas that were submerged with a bleach solution.

My dad gave me pretty good instructions on how to dry a flooded basement. But due to the hard work I put into the drying and cleaning process, I vowed to myself to prevent a flooded basement from ever happening to me again.

As soon as I had dried out, cleaned and restored my recently flooded basement to a satisfactory condition, I began inspecting inside and outside my house to determine what caused the flooding. As I inspected the walls of my basement, I noticed that there were small cracks where water can seep in through during a heavy downpour. I immediately fixed this by caulking the cracks to make my basement walls water tight. I also decided to cover the basement with a new paint that has sealant property.

The next thing I did was to inspect all the water and drainage pipes to make sure that another flooded basement would not occur due to busted plumbing fixtures inside the house.

The gutters and downspouts were the next fixtures I inspected next. I made sure that the gutters are not obstructed and that water can flow easily through them. I also made sure that the downspouts directed water away from my house's foundation and that my yard is draining water away from my house.

When I noticed that there were small puddles in my yard, I immediately filled them up to make the yard even and even made water pathways to direct the flow of water towards the street where the main drainage is located.

I must say that the inspection I did inside and outside my house, along with my dad's instructions, made me a pseudo-expert on flooded basements without having to spend hundreds of dollars on contractors. I still get flooded basements from time to time however, they are not as severe as the first flooding experience that I had.