After the flood - now what?

22 years ago

Got home last night to find water gushing full force from under my sink. Got the water shut off, plumber came and put the pieces that had come apart back together, we got the water mopped up.

Now what? I crawled under the porch to look in the crawl space this morning - didn't see any standing water but then visibility is not good and I was not up for crawling in with a lantern. But surely there is or was water there, and insulation and wood must be wet.

So what do I do? Just wait for it to dry and hope for the best (like not mold or rot?).

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Comments (4)

trekaren
22 years ago
Hi! My father had a toilet back up and left water standing everywhere. He contacted his insurance agent for advice. They immediately sent in a team of folks who are experts in this sort of thing. They brought in industrial size blowers to get as much moisture out as possible.

I know a lot of people recommend not calling insurance, but at some point you need to use them. Rates do not always rise. My father had the toilet claim last year and had to get carpet replaced, and then this year due to the major blackout and storm damage in Memphis in July had to file another claim. His rates didn't go up either time. Discuss possibilties with the agent on whether or not you need to file a claim and what the ramifications might be. If nothing else, they can recommend a company that specializes in taking care of this type of post-water-damage problem, and you can select to pay for an assessment yourself or file a claim.

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you!!!
esga
Original Author
22 years ago
Thanks TREKaren (and sorry for such a belated notice of your advice). This was my instinct too, though I have experienced friends who recommended against it.
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Abby1930
22 years ago
I had two water/sewer backups in my basement within a year.
My insurance rates did not rise, and I was quite pleased. However, when my policy was due to be renewed they told me they were cancelling it because of my claims. I got them to cover me at a slightly lower grade of coverage, but only after a fight. So in my experience anyway, the problem with the insurance companies isn't always with the rates rising, it's with the policy being cancelled.

Abby
icecreamgranny
22 years ago
HI...the policy being canceled at renewal is a rising problem here in Washington State. My advice would be to rent a commercial heater/blower. You may be lucky enough to not have had to much moisture retained by your insulation. It has been my family's experience that once insulation has been soaked it is not easily dried. If it is only damp with one of these blowers you may have a chance of not replacing insulation. If when you pull one of the pieces down you will know instantly how serious your problem is. Grab the lantern!!! Should it be terribly wet pull it all to avoid damage to flooring and crossbeams and get that blower in there. Hope yours is minor! Judy