In my ^%$  *&^%  basement! > > >

A lot of rain and wind yesterday. Got home around 9:00 last night, and turned the furnace up. You should have heard it when the blower tried to start up.

Had about 20" of sewer water backed up in the basement. House smells like ^%$#.

The portable sump pump has been running off and on since about 9:30 last night, and the water is still coming in.

Got a real mess to clean up whenever the water starts draining again.

Haven't had water in the basement for about 20 years.

Hey Gary, sorry to hear this, terrible! I will give you a call tommorow

Dominick

Gary, I would suggest you use light tackle when fishing for those "Baby Ruths" in your basement.    

Sorry to hear that.  I had a sewer back up into my finished basement due to lots of rain, and a crappy town sewer system.  I had to have a professional cleaning service come in, and it was a real pain.  Everytime it rains hard, in a short period of time, I get worried about a repeat of the flood.  Good luck...and I feel for ya.  I remember going down stairs, and seeing water running down into the basement, and thinking....that's not good.  At one point, I just gave up.....there was nothing I could do from stopping the water from coming it.  It came up from a shower drain...on our lower level...and then drained down to the finished basement.  Good luck, and will keep you in our prayers.  One for the strength to deal with the whole thing, and the other for a smooth clean-up.

Good Luck

Jamie

Gary -

I feel your pain - only I don't have sewage backed up in my basement err crawl space . either way the sump is running , pumping the water where it belongs OUTSIDE

Bummer Gary, I feel for ya man. :-/

Gary, been to lots of houses that have had the same thing happen during what they thought would be the usual "flash flooding." Pump it out SLOWLY (quick water removal can cause cracks in floor/walls), let it dry and mop bleach/water mix on the floor and walls. Give that furnace some time to dry out in front of a fan and hopefully it is fixable.

All- Please take my advice when I say even if you do not have flood insurance, make sure to get the "backed up sewage" rider. Unless you are hit by once in a lifetime flood from a river or lake, 90+% of flood damage in basements will involve backed up sewage. Even if only 10% of the water in the basement IS sewage, you will be covered!

I worked with the Red Cross for all of two weeks before I learned that fact and added that sewage rider to my policy!

Do you have a permit from the state environmental regulator to pump that sewage?

Great point.  Thanks for the heads up.

Gary, I would suggest you use light tackle when fishing for those "Baby Ruths" in your basement.

How high are the ceilings?  Pitchin/flippin out of the question?

A quick update. Got it all cleaned up. What a Crappy mess that was. I scooped out a 5 gallon bucket, 3/4 full of "fondue".  :-X

Then hosed it all down several times. Sprinkled floor dry down, and topped that with carpet fresh powder. left that for a day, then swept it all up, and applied more carpet fresh. Lit a couple of febreze candles in the house. Those things actually helped, a lot. The place is livable again.

Furnace cleaned and started up. It appears to have survived the ordeal. Ditto the water heater. Not out any money for any damaged appliances.

I am out $160 for the routing out of the drain tile. Had a few tree roots in the line, not causing a noticeable problem until they were swept backwards, the reversed and clogged.

I do have the sewage rider, but I'm not out anything that is covered.

LBH, there is no flipping/pitching allowed in the basement.

Long Mike, I am a conscientious sportsman, and always have a salmonid stamp when after those elusive "brown trout". They're much easier to target when they are "topwaters". :D