This is the last of our four-part series on how to handle a flood in your basement.
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Once your possessions are cleaned and drying out, and the basement itself has been drained and dried, it’s time to give it a good cleaning. Vinyl, tile, cement, and other hard flooring can be scrubbed with a disinfecting cleaner. So can your walls, but inspect any wet drywall carefully—if it’s too wet, it’s a breeding ground for mold and mildew, making it necessary to remove and replace it.
Finally, whether this is a first-time basement flooding problem or one that you’ve experienced repeatedly, you need to know why it happened. Where is the water coming from? Figuring out the answer to that question will determine the action you need to take to prevent future incidents of basement flooding. For example, your downspouts and gutters might not be conducting water away from your house effectively due to a blockage or some other problem. Or if you had a landscaping project done last summer, the new landscaping features might be directing water toward, instead of away from your house during a heavy downpour of rain. You might need to waterproof your basement, install a sump pump, or contact a wet basement specialist.
But whatever way you choose to address your wet basement troubles, make sure you solve this problem as soon as possible. Moisture in your home can cause a host of dangers and damage, from allergies and illnesses caused by mold, to cracks and weakening in your house’s foundation.
(Flickr Photo by Andrew Magill)
