Well you must have some kind of Water Damage problem going on in your Basement as you made it to this site. “How do you dry a flooded basement yourself you ask” Well that is the #1 question we get asked all the time by home owners here in Macomb County, MI especially if the basement flooding was caused by rain or rising water tables which usually is not covered by your Homeowners Insurance Policy.
“In most cases cleaning up and drying out a wet basement can be done by yourself, however there are a few very important guidelines that must be followed.”
Before starting to Dry-Out your your Wet Basement, safety always comes first. Make sure that the water in the basement is clean rain water and not raw sewage as this will present a health hazard as well as protocol issues for cleaning and drying. Make sure that no electric outlets were affected by the water as this posses possible electric shock if using any vacuums, fans or dehumidifiers. If you are uncomfortable or unsure of anything going on in the basement do not go inside, contact a Professional Restoration Contractor to make an assessment. >Basement Drying Pros
Step one – ALWAYS check for hazardous conditions such as type of water, structural damage, electrical hazards, mold and mildew growth. Take Photos! This will help down the road if the damage is covered under your insurance. Determine what has been damaged, carpet & pad, drywall & insulation, contents. Check the humidity levels in the home if you can and check affected materials with a protimeter to see how far the water has wicked into the materials. You can buy or rent these at Home Depot.
Step two – You will want to get anything that is wet up off the floor. Remove as much water as possible via shop vacs, wet mops or pumps.
Step three – Remove all wet affected material, carpet & padding, drywall, contents etc.
Step four – Disinfect The Basement. Once all the wet materials are out of the basement, you can start to sanitize. Use bleach in your mop bucket and mop the entire floor. For areas of the walls that are still wet, you can use a pump sprayer to spray those areas for drying or your can just cut out the wet materials.
If the water in the basement had some sewage in it, you will want to find a local janitorial supply house that carries both disinfectants and antimicrobial products.
Step five – Start drying out the basement. OK so you have the water removed, all wet materials removed and the basement sanitized and disinfected. The final procedure is to start drying out the affected area. To achieve this, dehumidifiers and air movers are used. How this works? The air movers’ job is to pull moisture out of wet materials and place this moisture back into the air. The dehumidifiers’ job is to pull that now moist air in over its coils, condense it, collect it and pump it away.
You want to make sure that you have enough air movers, about 1 for every 10 ft or so along the walls. You will also need a dehumidifier capable of handling the amount of water that the air movers are going to put in the air, as if they don’t pull enough water from the air it will take longer for the areas to dry, and that’s when Mold Growth starts.
If this seems a little overwhelming, call in a professional. Get a second opinion, their are Water Damage Restoration Companies all over Michigan that rent Specialty Drying Equipment at the same prices as your local rental center does. Hiring a professional Water Restoration Company might be a little higher than doing it yourself, but having the piece of mind that everything is done correctly out weighs the money.
