For the stuff you are still ditching…can you order a small dumpster? Fill it and they will haul it away.
When we had a similar thing a long while ago, the guys actually used fans, not space heaters, to move the air and dry things out.
I’d buy a dehumidifier at the nearest box store with curbside pickup. Get the highest pint rating available and plan to run it nonstop until a hygrometer set in the dampest area registers less than 50%. You can order an inexpensive (<$20) hygrometer online if you can’t get one with the dehu.
If you don’t have a way to run the dehu hose to a drain, then plan on emptying the bucket several times a day at first. For peace of mind, you may want to later leave the dehu set to run whenever it reads the humidity at or above 50%. Some people are comfortable with 55% - 60%, but I need to be more cautious.
Bummer @doschicos . This happened to us a few weeks ago. Luckily, by sheer chance, my husband was standing almost right next to it when it happened. We didn’t have water damage, but we were out $3000 by the time we had it replaced.
However, I had a bunch of burst pipes several years back and that was a huge job. Honestly, it sounds like you aren’t in too bad shape. Ask on a local parents page if anyone has any dehumidifiers and fans you can borrow. In my area, people have been very good about helping others out with things like this, being contactless and wiping down items with antibacterial wipes or cloths. Between those two things, you should be okay.
Hope you got some sleep @doschicos and that this morning feels a little more manageable.
We don’t have that much stuff to dispose of - I think it can fit in one SUV haul to the transfer station - fortunately.
Yes, fans or dehumidifiers as others suggested would be good but the space heater is pinch hitting because that’s all we had.
I definitely thought bout asking my local, online community for an equipment loan but it was too late at night by the time we noticed.
Waiting for the guy to come currently and we’ll buy, borrow or rent something depending on his advice.
If everything dries quickly, you may escape without getting mold. But it might be worth it to rent some super powerful fans to just blow at the wet drywall to dry it as quickly as possible. ServPro used these when we had a bad ice dam. They work much better than regular household fans.
Once when DH was away on business, I thought I could keep the wood boiler going by myself. I managed to drop a log on a spigot coming out of the boiler and hot water started spewing everywhere! I didn’t know how to turn the water off. I called a neighbor and 911. About three firetrucks showed up. It was quite a mess to clean up.
Since then, our plumber relocated the spigot so that accident can’t reoccur. I also learned how to turn the water off!
Out basement flooded horribly last year. During house showing for sale. Yeah, very bad timing. The insurance company took care of the entire situation. Sending clean up and paying up.
If the damage is truly minimal and you can handle it, invest in a shop vac. The aren’t that expensive and many uses for them and the are invaluable for any flooding which happens time to time if you have water. They also are the best things to use in rough cleaning an area when you don’t want to dirty up your home vac.
Also a dehumidifier is a good investment.
, we’ve been through this. I hate hate hate water leaks!!
Good luck!
if you have a big box store nearby pick up some cheap fans. Moving the air makes a huge difference in drying times. Much faster than a dehumidifier.
So sorry you’re dealing with this. When we had a pipe break/water leakage issue in our old house, in addition to industrial sized fans be used, they sprayed the wet walls and floor with something, to prevent mold, I think.
Seems everyone has a water story…
You brought back the image of it being about 3 days before Christmas, needing to pick my mom up at the airport, my stepdaughter coming in (so 3 kids probably under 10), and having all of our family room carpet ripped up except what was under the tree. We were supposed to host Christmas Eve dinner, but wound up taking everyone out instead.
(I will refrain from complaining about my husband choosing to spend multiple thousands of dollars reframing his mom’s artwork that we’d never hung and will never hang… He felt like he’d been irresponsible with it so had to fix it).
Update:
HVAC/plumber guy came this morning. Water heater is 12 years old so replacing it rather than trying a cheap fix. The installer will be back at 2 PM. I always feel I pay too much with these rush jobs but I want it done now so I can take a shower.
Guy didn’t think the water issue looked bad but to be safe husband ran out to Home Depot and rented one of the commercial type fans they call a carpet dryer for $26 for a day. Cheap.
And just because Covid-19 has to come up in pretty much any conversation, the HVAC guy was not wearing a mask and the Home Depot woman had hers hanging on her neck. Bloody fantastic [sarcasm] but not surprising among many in my state.
I’d still get a dehumidifier, where is it you are located though?
Glad it wasn’t too bad! What a PITA to have to deal with during all this.
Hopefully the install will go well and things will dry quickly.
Northern New England. Humidity is 31% today outside.
If we feel it’s still damp down there, Home Depot rents dehumidifiers as well so we can rent one when we return the fan.
Seems like we’re never too old to have new disasters and learn new stuff. Given the daily temps where you are I would not be at all worried about future mold issues as you should be able to dry things out quickly.
It is typical to need a hot water heater today, not a week from now so the costs are not going to be inflated for an emergency. If you were my father you would wait seven years (alcoholic and did not think heating water on the stove for sponge baths was a big deal)- I get replacements asap! You likely were able to figure out the size and brands you would go with, plus a reputable plumber.
I recall having two in our old house and when one leaked replaced both because they were of the age to do so. Nothing between it and the drain to get wet. Had already learned about water in a basement from a 100 year flood in the prior house and no valve in the drain to prevent backflow- there went saved magazines/journals. Had to replace our Florida garage water heater a year or two after moving here. The key was knowing a good plumber and paid for a top quality one, not the cheapest.
I also recall some would automatically replace such things just because they were x years old. Sorry, but not us. The lesson learned is to have a way to the drain, not to waste money over-replacing things.
In Wisconsin we had dehumidifiers (big basement) that ran every summer and a whole house humidifier for winters. Worth the purchase price most likely instead of a rental if your summer humidity is high like the Midwest.
By now you’ve had time to figure out many things and relaize things are not so bad. With heating season still in effect you likely don’t have the mold spores in the air to have cause damage in the short time of wetness either.
btw- 2019 seemed to be one disaster after another, of various kinds (health, home, auto insurance all involved)- nothing our fault. In January I was sure 2020 was going to be better. Hah!
2/3rds of our basement is finished and walkout in the back. We haven’t had issues with dampness at all before unlike many basements. Knock on wood.
We have a heat pump for A/C. Last summer was our first one with this new system. Now that I’m thinking about it, and thinking out loud, I wonder if running the A/C would help with any remnants of humidity in the basement. I know when they installed our A/C they mentioned that it works a little differently than a standard A/C unit. First it pulls the moisture out (dehumidifies it) before the cooling takes over.
Anyone know about this kind of stuff and heat pumps?
Guys just left so went down there to check it out. The company we use now is not the company that installed the previous water heater 12 or so years ago. The new company is SO much better. First, you can just tell by the quality of the work with the pipes, etc. Second, they put a metal catch tray underneath the new heater and in that tray is a sensor that is attached to an alarm. So, it alerts you if there is a future leak/blowout, assuming you’re at home. There are ways to connect it to alert you via app, too.
Also, things look good down there with the fan running. I think we’ll be in fine shape.
We’re definitely fortunate that any damage has been minimal.
My 60 yr. old oil tank started leaking last summer. . We had no idea it was leaking - the service person found it when he was doing the yearly checkup and cleaning. The leak was only about the size of a quarter when discovered. I shudder to think of the mess it would have made if it kept leaking. It’s in a room in the unfinished part of our basement we never go in.
The new tanks are encased in a second stainless steal outer case. Much safer in case of a leak.
Glad to hear all is well! Ugh on masks and distancing. This is likely a new code requirement. We have an on-demand heater and a water tank in the basement, and by code it is required to have a sump pump and a drain line outside in case there is a leak.
So glad to hear it’s all going fairly well. Still a pain, I know, but sounds like it could have been much worse.