Hi guys, I have to clean up today. A lot of my stuff in the basement is ruined. It remains to be seen whether any of the furniture down there can be saved. There’s also a question of whether the DVR and media stuff were high enough above the water line. The nintendo accessories took a hit. And all of the three full boxes of American Girl clothing, furniture, and dolls that I lovingly packed into plastic bins not two weeks ago, toppled over into the silty water. My eldest daughter’s childhood memorabilia is probably beyond salvaging.
And then there are the walls. The fire department removes only enough water to keep your electrical connections dry. The rest just stands there until the water gets reabsorbed by the earth. All of this happened before I even knew the basement was flooded so there wasn’t anything I could do about it anyway. The basements on our side of the street have never flooded before so my neighbors and I thought we were safe.
We still have no power. The generators are droning away in the driveways of those few individuals who were lucky enough to have one or could borrow one. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal. But today, I have to air out the basement ASAP or mold will take hold. And without electricity, I can’t use a wet/dry vac or a fan or dehumidfier. My freezer is thawing out, though the beer was still cold enough last night. I’m headed out for coffee before I have to haul the contents of my basement out to the street.
Later…
Filed under: General | Tagged: basement, Hurricane Irene |
The Confluence 
You guys are in my thoughts and prayers. Hope you’re all ok. Been thinking of you guys all night.couldn’t sleep. 🙂
Just keep saying to yourself….”it’s just stuff, it’s just stuff”.
It’s just expensive stuff that I spent quite a bit of time planning, painting, and putting together. And without a job, it’s very difficult to see how I’m going to make it better.
OTOH, if you’re going to do a basement, go with the vinyl wood plank flooring. It held up remarkably well. I don’t have the nightmares my neighbors do with wall to wall carpet. That’s all got to be ripped out. Mine just needs to be washed and squeegeed.
Think of it this way….after you finished was there anything that you wished you’d done differently (not more expensively)? Now you can!
I know it’s tough to live through these kinds of events – but we have absolute faith in you…just like we had/still have in HRC.
Rise, Riverdaughter. Rise.
It is at these times that I am grateful that we live on a Mountain.
I hope the cleanup goes quickly.
Power is on! But what I really need is a modem.
RD, I ‘m sorry that you are dealing with this mess.
Wasn’t it just a short time ago that you were fixing up your basement, and, now this. Grrrrrrrr.
Hope your power comes back on soon, like now.
Living in Florida I have been through many, many (I hate/loathe/detest them) hurricanes, but at least I can take some comfort in the future in knowing I don’t have a basement to frigging bail out! I really feel for you RD. I had no clue what a nightmare it could be. Thinking of you.
My refrigerator just made the “new ice!” sound. We are saved.
Drinks at 5?
Make it 9. Still a lot of work ahead.
Things to get for next water threat: generator, concrete blocks, more shelving that the water can flow around and not against, bigger dehumidifiers, fans.
Chances you’ll need any of it again: zero
(unless you don’t buy it)
True story.
If buying the emergency equipment magically prevents the emergency from ever happening, is that not money well spent? 😉
Hurray! Power makes all the difference.
RD — sooo sorry to hear that your basement flooded. And after you had just remodeled it. What a pain! Wishing you lots of energy to get the clean-up done.
We went through a similar thing last year when the streets of Milwaukee flooded. Luckily, we didn’t get the sewage back-up flooding like some did. Sounds like you didn’t get that either. 😉
No, no sewage in my basement. The water smells like rainy dirt. Two dehumidifiers going and fans. Ikea sectional dismantled. Cushions air drying in sun. They weren’t very wet to begin with. Cushion covers washed and air drying. Modem sun dried and presently bathed in rice. Not that it matters. I dont think the cable modem is working right now. So tired and I have barely started.
happy for you R.D.Power makes all the difference. 🙂
Sorry to hear. Cleanup is no fun at all. Drink early and drink often. I did OK out in C’ville because I’m more inland. Family further east didn’t do so well. No one hurt, but lots of power outage and at least one case of tree through roof and into house. Yikes. That’s not going to be fun.
I am so glad your electricity is back on!!! I’ve been stewing about your basement getting possible mold. I know you’re exhausted but, it must feel good not to have the headband flashlight on anymore!!!!!
Washed down the floor with antibacterial, antifungicide sol’n. Followed up with clorox spray gel around perimeter. Dehumidifiers going full tilt but I have a lot of stuff to take out. A newish twin bed set is ruined. An old dryer has to come up. Homemade upholstered headboard.
So not fun. It looks like the baseboards suffered the worst. Im stopping for this evening.
I am so sorry your basement flooded, RD, but I am glad you are safe. It takes time (and fights with the insurance company) but things can be replaced.
You might take pictures of the damage for the insurance company.
djmm
Oh man RD. Damn. Your basement! Geez. I’m so sorry this happened — after all the work you did on it too. Oh my god, you know? Sends hugs.