A little over a year ago, we received a call after a sump pump failure in Lima, OH. A plumber had been called to make the repair to the sump pump, so now it was time to clean up the water. The finished basement was holding nearly an inch of water in some spots when our team arrived on site.

Our water team extracted hundreds of gallons of water from the carpet and linoleum areas. To do so, they used both the wand attachment and the rider attachment.  In order to extract all of the water from the carpet, they went over the carpet area two separate times.

At the end of Day 1, the team set up the drying equipment: fans, dehumidifiers, and an odorox machine to help with odors.

To give the equipment a boost in effectiveness, they set up a containment to create the best drying environment in the basement. This allowed us to raise the temperature in the basement, which helps the dehumidifier remove more water from the air. As it creates more dry air, the fans blow that drier air onto the walls and floors. Because water always moves towards the driest option nearby, the water evaporates out of the walls and floors and into the air. The cycle repeats as the dehumidifier removes the water from the air, and everything gets drier.

When the team returned on Day 2, they checked the equipment and tested the moisture readings in the walls and floors. Because the readings showed everything was still wet, they removed 215 ft of baseboard, drilled 273 holes in the drywall, and drilled 6 holes in the toe kick of the cabinets. This allowed the bottom of each wall and cabinet to dry from the front and behind. The team repositioned the fans to blow dry air into those holes, speeding up the drying process.

On Day 3, as our team was monitoring the drying process, they heard water rushing back near the sump pump. One of the sump pumps had malfunctioned again, spraying water everywhere when it kicked on. It prevented the carpet closest to the sump pump room from drying at all. Once the sump pump was repaired correctly, the drying process moved along much better.

After letting the equipment run all weekend, our team monitored the progress on Monday, Day 6. A few fans needed repositioned, yet things were beginning to dry out efficiently.

We can connect four fans in a row, running all four from the same outlet. Yet in a confined basement like this, the powerbox allowed us to operate more fans without the risk of overloading the breakers. As they left for the day, they gave their usual update to the home owner about how things were drying out.

By Day 10, everything was dry, and we were able to pull all of the equipment out. During the daily update with the home owner, he had not decided if he would put the baseboard back on himself after we cleaned the carpets. We allow that option for those who are able to do the work themselves.

Once the schedules aligned correctly, we were able to clean the carpets and reattach the baseboards. Our team setup a few fans to help the carpet to dry more quickly, and they blocked the furniture in the basement to keep it dry. The next day they picked up the fans and walked out with a job completed.

Scott, the home owner, said this after everything was completed, “Your team was great, very respectful and always courteous when they were at our house. They have been patient with us. It was a great experience overall. Don’t change a thing.”