One day, you go down in the basement after a heavy rain and find it under water. Your possessions soaking or drifting in the pool it now became.

You look at the picture with a mix of disbelief and dismay. It might take a minute before you become overwhelmed by worry, contemplating cleanup costs, losses, damages, the hard work ahead, the mess.

Will the furnace still work? How about the water heater?

You decide you need to do something, but you don’t know what or where to start. You need to call for help but doesn’t know who to call.

This article will give you a step-by-step guide to recovering from basement flooding and taking all the necessary steps to prevent that from happening again.

1 – Turn off power.

Do not enter the basement or touch the flood water without turning off power.

2 – Call your insurance company.

Regular homeowner policies usually don’t cover water damage, which is why FEMA recommends Flood Insurance even if you don’t live in a flood plain. About a quarter of all the flood claims filed every year, are for homes in areas with low to moderate flood risk.

However, even if you do have Flood Insurance, you might find out that there are coverage limits when it comes to basements, and that it will only pay for the damages in there is a qualified flood: which means there is either two acres of flooded land around your property, or a few of your neighbors were affected as well.

3 – Get the water out.

If your basement is flooded, chances are you don’t have a sump pump, or the one you have isn’t working properly. That means you will need to remove the water by other means. There are basically four ways to do that:

• Call a Basement Waterproofing company. Some basement waterproofing companies offer emergency services and will pump out the water for you. You can then schedule with them the installation of a drainage and sump pump system that will prevent future floods as well.
• If there is a lot of water and a lot of damage, for example, in a finished basement, your best choice is to call a Disaster Restoration Company. They will bring in industrial equipment to suck out the water as quick as possible.
• In extreme flooding situations, the Fire Department will help get the water out. However keep in mind that, when flood disaster strikes, they might be overwhelmed by requests.
• If there isn’t a lot of water and damage or you can’t get any of the above to help you, you can try to buy or rent a “floor sucker” : a shop vac or a hardware store bought sump pump. Keep in mind that there sump pumps are usually of a lower quality and should only be used as a temporary solution.

4 – Get rid of soaked organic materials that can’t be completely dried out in 48 hours.

48 hours is how long it takes for mold to start growing in porous, organic and absorbent surfaces. And according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Center for Disease Control, once the mold settles in such materials (wood, fabric, carpets, mattress and upholstery, drywall and fiberglass insulation) there is no 100% effective or safe way to completely remove it. They need to be removed and discarded.

If your basement is finished with carpet and drywall, you will have to strip out every inch that came in contact with water and everything in the surroundings that feels damp, because the water infiltrates these materials through capillary action. Of course, if you hired a Disaster Restoration Company, they will do that for you.

5 – Dehumidify the basement.

You got rid of the water, but if your basement was flooded because of the weather, chances are that the ground around the basement is still very wet, that water will keep seeping through the concrete. And it will happen again every time it rains making your basement damp and mold prone. If your basement flooded because of a plumbing accident, that moisture too infiltrated the concrete.

Do yourself a favor to prevent mold now and in the future: get a good basement dehumidifier. Program it to keep the basement RH levels at or below 60% and you won’t have to worry about mold.

7 – Waterproof and Flood Protect Your Basement

After dealing with a basement flood for the first time, the last thing you want is to see it happening again. Even if your basement never flooded before, consider all the visible climate changes: record rain falls, wild storms. Let’s face it: the weather isn’t getting any better. Are you willing to risk another basement flood, knowing that there are technologies that will help prevent it? Call a waterproofing company and get them to install an internal drain tile, and a good sump pump system with a battery operated backup pump. This will prevent future floods from happening. Good basement flood prevention systems are backed with a Transferable Lifetime Warranty, which makes it a great investment even if you are going to sell the house in the future.

8 – Consider finishes that will not get ruined by water.

After cleaning and waterproofing the basement, if you plan to refinish it, consider using products that will not get ruined by water. An internal drainage system with sump pump will keep ground water from coming in and will take care of the water from internal plumbing accidents, but fiberglass insulation against the concrete will still soak up ground water and a carpet will get wet by a plumbing leak for example. Save yourself some future headaches by choosing flooring and basement wall solutions that are 100% waterproof, inorganic and non-absorbent.

The bottom line is: basements are prone to flood and water damage, and the cost of restoring and replacing damaged property can be very high, even if you only use the basement to house appliances, laundry and storage.  Yet, basement floods are also preventable, and for a fraction of the cost of cleaning up the flood mess!

A Wet Basement can be a huge financial burden

Your Wet Basement May Be Costing You More Money Than You Would Pay to Have it Fixed

Your basement is unsightly, unpleasant, and uncomfortable. It is dark, dingy and smells horribly. However, since you only use it to store some items or as a laundry room, you don’t really care much about how your
basement looks and feels like. You only go there when strictly necessary and rarely spend more than a few minutes in it.

Truth is that your cave-like basement is more than just an eye sore. It might be costing you a lot of money as well, and in more than one way.

Wet Basements Increase Heating and Cooling Costs

Humid air costs much more to both heat and cool and, if you think that it is only a problem if you want to cool or heat the basement, think twice.

Due to a physics phenomenon known as “stack effect” – which refers to the way the air moves in a building – 1/3 of the air you breathe on the upper floors of your home is coming straight from your basement. That means that the moisture in that basement air is consistently being carried upstairs, making your whole house more difficult to cool and heat.

How difficult? According to a U.S. Department of Energy’s Report, an insulated basement can save homeowners across the U.S. anywhere between $250 and $450 dollars a year in energy bills. Therefore, keeping your basement humid and not providing any kind of moisture or thermal protection is costing you at least that much.

Wet Basements Ruin your Indoor Air Quality

Moisture is not the only undesirable thing being carried from the basement into the above floors. Mold and dust mites thrive in wet basements, therefore mold spores and dust mite pellets, the two main triggers of most indoor allergies, are also finding their way into your home.

Your wet basement is not only costing you more money in utilities; it is ruining your indoor air quality. It might even be making someone in your family sick or uncomfortable. That alone can be burden on your budget in times of soaring healthcare costs.

Wet Basements Decrease Property Value and Make a Home Hard to Sell

No one likes a wet basement and home buyers know that if they buy a home with one such basement, the seller’s problem will become their own. The water stains, puddles, wall cracks or even mold smells can render a home very difficult, if not impossible to sell.

According to Builder Magazine 19% of home buyers won’t even consider a fixer-upper.

In addition, a wet basement is counted within the 12 Red Flags, Realty Times recommend home buyers to watch out for,and About.com counts wet basements among the top ten reasons buyers will hate your home.

Anyone willing to buy a home with a leaky basement will probably expect a substantial discount. A wet basement decreases property value by 10 to 25% and there is no way to cover it up. In most states, sellers are required to disclose basement water problems and can be held liable if they don’t, even after the property is sold.

Even if you are going to sell your home in the near future, having the basement waterproofed is the best course of action. Not only you can ask for full price on your property, but good waterproofing companies will offer a Transferable Lifetime Warranty that will cover the buyer. That alone is a great selling point for your home.

Wet Basement = Flood Prone Basement

When it comes to basements, today’s water stains are tomorrow’s flood. During heavy rains the faulty ground drainage that is now causing the water to seep through the wall and floors will cause your basement to flood. It is not a matter of if, but when and how much.

Experience shows that one can never be prepared enough for a basement flood. Even if you only use it for storage, laundry or to house utilities. Even if you have all your appliances and belongings raised from the floor to minimize damage, a basement flood is always a hassle, and a costly one most of the time. According to Floodsmart.gov, 2 inches of flood water can cost you around $7,800 USD.

There is the messy cleanup, the damaged property, the common hazards (electricity, fire, contamination), the potential for mold growth in the aftermath. If you don’t have flood insurance, none of the damage is covered. Homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover flood damage.

In addition, according to FEMA and Floodsmart.gov, even if you do have flood insurance, not every flood qualifies for coverage under these policies. The flooded area must be of at least 2 acres or at least a couple of your neighbors must have been affected as well, for your claim to be considered.

Also, in these policies, the coverage is very limited when it comes to basements. Some finishing material and some of your property may not be covered at all.

Affordable Basement Flood Prevention Technologies

For much less than you might think, you can get all these problems solved for good. Modern internal basement drainage systems, and state-of-the-art sump pump systems – which include battery operated back up pump, alarm, and an automatic switch that will cause another pump to kick in when the main pump is having problems – will reduce the odds of a basement flood to statistical insignificance. Powerful and energy efficient basement dehumidifiers will reduce RH levels to prevent mold problems.

These can be installed in a couple of days, with minimal disruption, for a fraction of the cost of a conventional drainage system or external french drain.

Unlike external french drains which are buried by the footing and can only be fixed by digging out the foundation, good internal drainage systems remain serviceable throughout the years. They can be fitted with service ports that allow them to be examined and flushed as needed. Which is why they are usually backed by a Transferable Lifetime Warranty, by the companies that install them.

Having your basement protected is one of the the best investments you can make on your home. The energy savings alone will pay for the cost of the repairs, overtime.

As an extra incentive, if you decide to insulate or finish your basement after waterproofing it, you might qualify for one or more of the federal government loans or tax incentive programs, recently made available to homeowners seeking to improve their home’s energy efficiency.

So as you consider home maintenance and repairs priorities and try to budget accordingly, consider this: can you really afford to keep that basement wet?