HELP!!! Water in the basement!!

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

We have gotten a little water before, but now we have water up to an inch deep in some places. I went to Sears and got a 6 gallon wet vac. I am using it, but it fills in about a minute and it doesn't look like I have even made a dent. And the 6 gallons of water is pretty heavy. Do any of you know a way to get the water dumped out without carrying it up a flight of stairs? I have made 2 trips so far and I am not sure my surgically-repaired shoulder can take much more.

Thanks for any ideas! :hi:

[mikeytherat]

1. You need a sump pump:

mikey_the_rat

[Fire Walk With Me]

2. Locking: No sex toy threads on DU.

Please refer to the terms of service if you have any questions.

[mikeytherat]

3. Sex toy? It's a sump-pump, not a jackhammer.

mikey_the_rat

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Sure. Right.

:P;)

[mcctatas]

12. speaking of sex toys

this thing from a kids show boy spawn watches reminds me of a giant french tickler

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

4. I was not aware that a sump pump doubled as a sex toy.

All the more reason to go out and get one!

[MrsMatt]

6. agree about the sump pump

Do you have a floor drain or a laundry tub in the basement? You could dump the wet vac pretty easily, or have the sump pump move the water into the drain.

[backwoodsbob]

7. sump pump

[Blue-Jay]

8. Suggestion.

CANNONBALL!!!

[flvegan]

9. Sears sells hose extensions, IIRC.

And there should be a way to undo the cap on the other side of the vac (at least mine does). Effectively, with a long enough hose extension, you could set the vac outside or wherever and just shoot the vac'd water out, like a pump.

[Ahpook]

10. We just went through this, and its been a nightmare

It was probably the 5th or 6th time its happened, and it was progressively worse each time.

I always used a shop vac to suck the water up and get it to a point where it was damp. After that we ran fans for days. If you call a company out, they will more or less do the same thing with bigger equipment. They will also bend you over backwards with the checkbook:)

Anyway, we were sick of worrying about this and got some estimates to waterproof the basement. I knew it would be a nice bit of change, but well worth it. Each basement has a few ways that water can enter, and of course a few systems to cure the individual problem.

The crew installed a drainage system as well as 2 pumps for when it gets out of control. Its guaranteed and transferable.

May want to think about it:)

[likesmountains 52]

11. Post this in the DIY forum...great folks over there

[davsand]

13. Skim off the floaters and market the house as having an indoor pool.

I considered it after my basement family room flooded a few years ago...

Where is your water coming in? Is it coming in through walls or from under the floor? Is your local water table higher than usual? It is gonna help a lot if you can figure out WHY you have the flooding if you've never had it before.

By all means--get that water out ASAP. I suggest a sump pump with a hose running out a basement window and away from the house unless you have an interior drain system designed to deal with a large amount of water, but you will also need to address the cause so it doesn't happen again once you have cleaned up from this flood. (Don't forget to treat for mildew, BTW. That is a huge mess to deal with too.)

Good luck, This kind of stuff just sucks.



Laura

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

15. We've gotten something like 7 inches of rain in the last couple

of days, and it appears that the water table is so high right now that water is coming in every way it can. Like at the seam between the basement floor and the wall and every crack in the foundation floor. We are going to look at putting a sump pump in for the building - we are on one side of a duplex. We have neighbors a couple of buildings down with a basement that is lower than ours, and their sump pump kept all of the water out. We do not want to go through this ever again!

Will a dehumidifier take care of the mildew? If not, what does?

[applegrove]

14. So sorry it happened to you. Happened to my parents onetime. It drained itself.

[jobycom]

16. And fire in the sky!!

Sorry, it was my Deep Purple Phase Flashback.

Sump pump.

[lukasahero]

17. Wish I could help but we're bailing out, too

We've been sucking up water with towels and a wet vac since around 10 pm last night. Oh, and for the geniuses about to recommend we get a sump pump, we already have one! There's just no where for the water to go anymore and it coming in as fast as we can pump it out.

As to your question about how to get the water out without going upstairs, we have our dehumidifier hooked up to a hose that pipes directly outside. I'm not sure of the specifics in play that allows water to drain uphill but it could be worth looking into...

It's been a hell of a week. :hi:

[friendly_iconoclast]

18. Good luck, but I doubt there's a sump pump to be had in New England

Massive, massive flooding around here.

[lukasahero]

19. Heard on NPR that wet vacs are sold out

never mind sump pumps! :(

Hope you and yours are staying high and dry.

[Skittles]

20. .