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Cleaning and Repairing Flooded Basements Before you enter a flooded basement:
Open doors and windows, or use blowers to force fresh air into the basement. Pumping Do not use an electric pump powered by your own electrical system. Use a gas-powered pump, or one connected to an outside line. Fire departments in some communities may help with such services. More damage may be done by pumping water from the basement too soon or too quickly, than from letting the floodwater remain. Water in the basement helps brace the walls against the extra pressure of water-logged soil outside. If water is pumped out too soon, walls may be pushed up. To help prevent such structural damage, pump the water from the basement in stages. Remove about a third of the water each day. Watch walls for signs of failing. If the outside water level rises again after the day's pumping, start with a new water line. The soil may be very slow to drain, but do not hurry the pumping. Whatever is submerged in the flooded basement will not be damaged further by delaying the pumping; serious structural damage may be prevented. Cleaning After water has been pumped from the basement:
Check supporting columns, beams, walls, and floors. Structural damage to flooded basements usually includes buckled walls, settled walls, or heaved floors. Buckled walls are evidenced by horizontal cracking and walls moving out of plumb. When this condition is minor, you need not repair the wall immediately. However, any noticeably buckled wall will eventually collapse from normal ground pressures and season temperature changes. When buckling has seriously weakened the wall, rebuild the damaged parts immediately. Build pilasters into walls over 15 feet long for reinforcement. Pilaster spacing should be 12 to 15 feet. Settled walls and footing are indicated by vertical cracks either in small areas or throughout the structure. Repairs are difficult without special equipment. Contact a reliable contractor for this work. Heaved floors are those that have not returned to their original level, or have cracked badly. You may need to construct a new floor. Remove old, broken concrete.
This article was written by Anne Field, Extension Specialist, Emeritus, with reference from the USDA Disaster Handbook.
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