Have you discovered puddles of standing water in your basement? You need help to clean it up FAST! This article is all you need to get started. We have all your questions about “how to clean up water in basement” covered.
We’re Cleaner Guys, a professional water damage cleanup and restoration company in Washington State with more than 20 years of experience! Here, you’ll find pro insider advice on what you really need to know about water or flooding in a basement, and what really needs to happen to make sure it’s cleaned up successfully. Read on!
Table of Contents
- First 3 Things to Do About Water in Your Basement
- Common Causes of Water in a Basement
- Is Water in a Basement Serious?
- How to Clean Up Water in Basement
- How to Prepare for and Prevent Basement Water Damage in the Future
First 3 Things to Do About Water in Your Basement
If your basement is flooded, you need to act fast! Here are the first 3 things you MUST know and MUST do when you find standing water in your basement.
- DO NOT TOUCH THE WATER until you have turned off the power to the basement/house! There may be an electrical cord or appliance touching the water, which could cause you to be electrocuted if you touch the water! Shut off the power to the basement before doing anything else.
- DO NOT TOUCH THE WATER without waterproof gloves, boots, and eye protection! This is extremely important because the water may be contaminated with bacteria, sewage, and other hazardous materials (this is known as “black water“).
- Try to identify the source of the water damage, and do your best to stop it. If it is coming from a leaking or burst pipe, shut off the water to the basement or to the house, and put a bucket or bowl under the leak. If it is coming from an improperly sealed window, do your best to make sure the window is securely shut and plug up the points of water intrusion with towels. Read more about common sources of water damage below.
Common Causes of Water in a Basement
Determining the source of the water in your basement is essential to cleaning it up effectively and preventing it from happening again. Sometimes, you may be able to easily see where the water is coming from! But in other instances, it isn’t easy to know what the source of the water is, such as when water is seeping out from a wall, and you can’t see where it’s coming from.
Below, we provide you with a list of the most common sources of water intrusion in basement, so you can know what to look for.
- A burst or leaking pipe, either inside a wall cavity or under a sink
- An overflowing toilet or sink that was left on
- A city sewer backup
- Water buildup seeping through a poorly-sealed ground-level window
- Cracked below-ground basement walls letting in groundwater from outside
- Failed sump pump
- Water heater rupture (if your water heater is in the basement)
How to Stop Common Causes of Basement Flooding
As mentioned in the previous section, if you can clearly see and stop the source of the water in your basement, then do it (safely). If the water is coming from a burst or leaking pipe, an overflowing toilet, or a water heater rupture, start by shutting off the water to the basement (or to the house).
If the water is seeping in from standing water pooling outside the house due to rain or flooding, it’s likely that there is a lower elevation next to the foundation of your home. This may look like a ditch or a “well” in the dirt running along the outside of your house, where water likes to pool. The best thing you can do in this case is take a shovel and try to fill in that lower elevation as much as you can, so that the water can’t pool right next to the walls.
If the water is coming from inside the walls, or from an improperly-sealed window, the best thing you can do is call a professional foundation repair company or water damage restoration company, and have them assess the intrusion point and advise you how to fix it.
Is Water In a Basement Serious?
Yes, water intrusion or flooding in a basement is very serious! In the immediate present, it can potentially electrocute anyone who touches it, if the water is covering an exposed electrical cord or other source of electricity. The water may also be contaminated water, or “black water“: water that has hazardous bacteria, sewage, or other harmful material in it.
Do not touch or go near basement water intrusion without waterproof gloves and boots, eye protection, and a mask! You don’t know if it’s contaminated, and you do not want it accidentally getting on or in your mouth, eyes, or skin. This could result in serious irritation or illness!
Beyond that, standing water will also almost certainly cause mold growth, which can cause mold sickness and severe mold allergy reactions in you or your loved ones. Mold can take 48 hours or less to grow where there is excess moisture, so you have to act fast if you want to avoid mold sickness!
Lastly, water intrusion that is left to soak into the floors and walls of your home will not all dry out, but will eventually saturate the very structure of your home. This can compromise the structural soundness of your home!
Water damage should be taken very seriously.
How to Clean Up Water in Basement
There are a few things you can do to start the process of cleaning up water in your basement. These include laying down towels to soak up some of the water, vacuuming up the water using a wet/dry vacuum if you have one, removing wet items from the water and drying them, and pointing fans at the wet area to speed up drying.
However, if the standing water is extensive (think more than 1/2 inch deep) or you’re dealing with full-on flooding, the best and safest course is to leave the cleanup to professional water damage cleanup experts.
I know this likely isn’t what you want to hear — who wants to spend money on professional help? And many other articles on the internet may tell you that you can clean it up yourself, no problem.
However, as water cleanup professionals ourselves, we have seen damage like yours countless times, and we must caution you: cleaning up the water yourself and not getting a professional assessment is very risky.
Water very quickly soaks into the interior cavities of walls and the subfloor underneath your flooring. You can’t see this water once it has soaked in. Even if it looks like you’ve cleaned up all the water, you won’t see water inside your walls or floors! This invisible interior water damage will fester unseen long after you think you’ve cleaned up the issue. It can cause mold growth inside your walls, making you or your loved ones sick! We’ve seen it many times in our professional practice!
Conclusion:
If you want to be sure the water is really cleaned up, your house is thoroughly dry, and there will be no mold growth in the future, then you cannot skip having a professional water damage restoration company assess and help clean up the damage.
How to Prepare for and Prevent Basement Water Damage in the Future
There are many things you can do to help prepare for and prevent water intrusion into your basement in the future! Here are some of them:
Steps to Prevent Future Basement Flooding
- Make sure your gutters have long downspouts that carry rainwater at least 3 feet away from the foundation of your home
- Prevent rainwater from pooling at your foundation by “yard regrading“. This means ensuring that the elevation of the ground slopes down and away from the base of your home. This prevents low-elevation “pockets” for water to sit in.
- If you have any windows right at ground level, have them checked annually to make sure they are sealed well
- Have your foundation and below-ground basement walls checked annually for cracks that may let in water
- Install a basement sump pump, especially if you live in a high-risk flooding area
- Have a backwater valve installed in your sewer line. If the city sewer ever backs up, the valve will help prevent it from backing up into your home!
- If you live in a flooding risk area, call your home insurance company and check if you have flood insurance! Many insurance companies do not cover flooding specifically since it is an unusual natural disaster. You may need to invest in separate flood insurance.
If you need water damage cleanup in Mount Vernon WA or the surrounding area, call Cleaner Guys! We’re proud to boast award-winning customer service, lower prices than others, and top-notch workmanship! Contact us today through the menu at the top of your screen, or call us right now at (360)757-4300. We’re ready to help you!
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. No part of this article is medical or legal advice, and may not be used as such. For all serious medical matters, consult your doctor. For all serious legal matters, consult your legal advisor. This article contains Cleaner Guys’ experience and opinions only.
