Flooded Basements In Portland

5/11/2022 (Permalink)

A flooded basement caused by a broken pipe

Forget the flowers: spring showers bring flooded basements! All it takes is one heavy rainstorm—or maybe an average rain that goes on for multiple days, or perhaps a series of storms. Whatever way it happens, too much water to be absorbed into the ground means it may find its way into your basement. And when it gets there, the property and structural damage can be overwhelming. You may even end up with a persistent mold infestation.

Minimize Basement Flooding and Water Damage Cleanup

Luckily, there are ways to prevent or minimize basement flooding, and ways to reduce basement water damage. Preventing a flood starts with making it difficult for water to get inside, and that starts with proper drainage.

Route Water Away from Your Home’s Foundation

Grading your property is key to preventing springtime basement flooding. Your yard should slope away from your home’s foundation on all four sides so that water doesn’t pool near your house. Take a look at your property after a rainstorm. Is water ponding next to your foundation? If yes, have your yard graded or do it yourself.

Next, focus on your home’s drainage system: your gutters and downspouts. If water spills over the edges of your gutters instead of flowing into the downspout, you’ll need to have the slope of the gutters adjusted. Clear your gutters of debris such as leaves to allow rainwater to flow freely. Once you have water flowing to your downspouts, make sure they direct the water away from your foundation. Place concrete or plastic splash blocks beneath the end of your downspouts to move water away from your foundation and out into the yard. Consider using flexible or rigid downspout extenders to move water even further away from your foundation.

If your home has any basement windows that are partially below grade, install window well covers to protect them from rainwater.

Keep Flooding Damage to a Minimum

If water does enter your basement, the best way to prevent a lot of damage is to quickly discover about the water and pump it back out.

You can detect water entering your basement by placing one or more water sensors at different locations on the floor. Depending on capabilities, the sensors will sound an alarm and/or send an alert to your cell phone—giving you a head start on addressing the problem.

A sump pump installed in your basement will help keep water damage to a minimum, although you’ll still need to dry and clean up your basement. As water reaches the sump, or pit, in which the pump sits, it will trigger the pump to eject the water outside. Be sure to check, clean and maintain your pump so that it’s ready to go when you need it. A battery back-up will keep the pump running in case of power loss.

Also, if you have a floor drain, make sure it is not covered and is clear of debris.

What to Do if Your Portland Basement Floods

If you do get water in your basement, you may be able to minimize the damage and handle the cleanup yourself. If you have several inches or more of water in your basement, however, cleanup and water damage restoration may be better handled by an experienced professional, like SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield. We know how to restore water-damaged possessions, appliances, furniture, flooring and more.

Be Safe When Evaluating Your Flooded Basement

Because a flooded basement can be dangerous, take some precautions before venturing to check and clean up the damage.

• Start by turning off the electricity and gas to your basement, if you can do so safely. Or call a plumber and electrician—or SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield—to do the job.
• A flooded basement presents slip-and-fall hazards as well as puncture risks, so protect your feet with sturdy rubber boots and your hands with thick rubber gloves.
• Water-soaked furniture, boxes, etc. will be surprisingly heavy to lift, so avoid injuring yourself by lifting lighter loads and using your legs rather than your back to lift.
• Another danger is that of a water-soaked ceiling. A wet ceiling may pose the risk of electrocution, so don’t turn on ceiling fans or light fixtures if you see water damage. Worse, if you notice your basement ceiling is sagging, stay out of the basement, since it could collapse on top of you.

Removing the Water

Once you can safely enter your basement, first try to find out where the water is coming from. Typically, it’s going to be a crack in the floor or foundation or around a window frame. If water is still entering your basement, use towels or rags to plug the leaks.

Check your floor drain if you have one and unclog it if necessary to allow the water to drain. Also keep an eye on your sump pump and clear out anything that may be blocking the float.

Now, begin removing the standing water. A wet vac is ideal to pull up water quickly, but towels, buckets and mops are also an option.

Drying Out Your Basement

Once you have removed the standing water, your next task is to remove all the water-affected or -damaged objects from the basement. Remember, anything that’s water-logged will be much heavier than you would expect, so be careful when lifting.

Your goal at this point is to completely dry out your basement within 48 hours. After that, mold colonies can start to grow. Unfortunately, you may not even see mold, because it can be behind walls and under floors, creating a stubborn mold problem.

Chances are high that if you have carpeting or other flooring installed in your basement, you’ll have to pull it up and trash it.

The best way to dry out all the moisture in your basement by yourself is to get the air moving. Throw open all the windows and doors. Run lots of fans to suck in fresh air and push out stale basement air. Run dehumidifiers to reduce humidity and speed up drying. You can even run air conditioners to drive down humidity, too.

Drying Your Possessions

All those objects that you removed from your basement must be dried out within that same 48 hours to prevent mold and mildew growth. This can be challenging, especially if the storm that brought the rain is still ongoing. If the storm has passed, you’ll be able to remove your wet items from the basement and dry them outside in the sunshine. If that’s not possible, take out as much as you can and, as in the basement, set up fans and dehumidifiers to move air and remove moisture.

Here are some tips to help you tackle the drying of your furniture and possessions:

• Take objects out of cardboard boxes, discard the boxes and dry the items separately
• Pick up wet books and magazines off the floor to dry
• Hang up fabric, fur and leather
• Remove and prop up cushions and upholstery
• Place aluminum foil or wood blocks between furniture and carpeting to prevent stains

If you have any electrical appliances—such as TVs, tablets or computers—in the basement, they, too, may have been affected by the floodwater. It’s important that you do not turn them on—if there’s any moisture inside, they can shock you. Have all electronics checked and tested by an electrician before you use them.

Complete Basement Flood Cleanup by SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield

The do-it-yourself water-removal and drying-out processes described above are labor- and time-intensive—and offer no guarantee that all the water will be removed, all your possessions will be dried and cleaned, and no mold colonies will take over your basement.

On the other hand, with one call to SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield, you’ll reach the Portland-area experts in flooded basement water damage cleanup. Our proven water damage cleanup procedures have made flood recovery easier for so many homeowners in central Connecticut.

Our crew has the skill, procedures, products and tools to return your basement to before-flood condition. We’ll remove all the water and moisture quickly and thoroughly, which will speed your recovery from the flood. Quicker drying means less chance of a mold infestation.

We even make the insurance claims process easier and faster by coordinating with your insurer. Our digital inventory of your water-damaged furnishings and items (including photos) means your insurer has the most accurate information.

Once you call us with your flooded basement water emergency, we send our experienced crew to your Portland home ASAP, where they evaluate and begin containing the damage. The tested SERVPRO water damage remediation process means your home and property are restored quickly and completely.

• Inspection/assessment: We evaluate the water damage in your basement and measure the moisture. With that information, we create a plan to dry and restore your home and property.
• Temporary protection: If there is a risk of further damage, we cover or board up vulnerable parts of your home.
• Water removal/extraction: Our powerful pumps and vacuum units quickly remove hundreds of gallons of water.
• Drying/dehumidifying: With most of the water removed, it’s time to bring in air movers and dehumidifiers to finish the drying process.
• Cleaning/sanitizing: We bring your water-damaged furnishings and possessions to our central Connecticut warehouse, where they are cleaned, sanitized and deodorized. On-site, your basement receives the same treatment.
• Restoration: If areas of your home require repairs or reconstruction, we take care of that before returning your cleaned furnishings and possessions.

If Your Possessions and Furnishings are Water Damaged

SERVPRO tries its best to restore damage rather than calling items a loss, which means you’ll have to replace them. Our expertise and advanced methods can help you save money while preserving irreplaceable possessions.

We use our Contents Claim Inventory Service (CCIS) to provide you with a digitized and bar-coded inventory of your damaged items. In addition to speeding your insurance claim, CCIS allows us to track your possessions while they are being restored in our warehouse.

Once we determine which of your possessions can be restored, we use the appropriate techniques:

• Dry cleaning: for light residues; can also be used to pre-clean before wet cleaning
• Wet cleaning: best for moderate to heavy residues
• Spray and wipe: for items too delicate to be wet cleaned
• Foam cleaning: for fabrics that might shrink or bleed if wet cleaned
• Abrasive cleaning: for more stubborn residues
• Immersion cleaning: for items that can be submersed in the cleaning product

Electronics: Our electronics techs evaluate and clean electronic items—such as TVs, DVD players, tablets and computers—then open up, clean and inspect the devices.

Documents: If you stored important documents—such as legal or medical records, books, letters and photos—in your basement, they may have been damaged in the flood. SERVPRO knows how to restore many of these items and can digitize them, too, so that they will not be at risk in the future. 

If You Have Mold Damage

SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield can inspect your Portland home and property to determine if mold damage has occurred. We use advanced methods and sophisticated products and equipment to combat mold:

• Containment: We use negative air chambers with negative air pressure to halt the spread of mold spores
• Air filtration: Using air scrubbers and HEPA vacuums, we remove mold spores from the air
• Removal: Mold-infested materials, such as drywall and carpeting, are removed and disposed
• Cleaning: We clean and disinfect your damaged but restorable possessions, then deodorize them with foggers for deep penetration. We also treat your undamaged possessions with antifungal and antimicrobial treatments to prevent new mold colonies from forming

We’re Here for You

The team at SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield has specialized training and experience in water damage remediation, fire restoration services, natural disaster prevention, chemical cleanup, and natural disaster cleanup. Call SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield (860.633.8791) any time.

When you have suffered a water or other disaster at your home or business, call SERVPRO of Glastonbury/Wethersfield today at 860.633.8791

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