Unfortunately, no one can be 100% insured from having floods in the basement spaces, this is why this article was created to help learn several most important things to know in case you face such a situation. If you have any doubts – the main idea is not to get into the room and better call for professional help!
#1! Think about the family’s health and safety!
According to the experts’ opinion and experience, wet and even flooded basement is an extremely hazardous place to enter! This is why BEFORE you enter your home basement, consider the following:
Electrical Shock – As a rule, most basements in the world have all the major wiring hubs of the house. So if your basement is wet or flooded, there is an extremely high risk of getting electrical shock. If you do want to check what is down there, then the first thing our basement expert Guy Solomon advises to do is to turn off the house’s power and only after that enter the basement with a light.
Gas leaks – Another thing that usually takes place in case of the basement floods is gas leaks. In order to protect yourself against them you need to do the following. First of all try to smell the gas and if you smell something not usual to your nose, then right on the spot leave the house with all the family members and most important documents and immediately call basement professional and gas service.
Pollutants – All the sewage in the world in a moment comes to your house so you can only imagine how many harmful or at least “not friendly” bacteria and disease transitive ingredients can this floodwater bring to your basement. Moreover, the water may not just bring all those harmful substances but even have them developed right under your house over the period when you did not know about the flood downstairs. This is why if you are planning to enter that space you should wear special protective items which include gloves, new or at least clean safety glasses, a face mask to protect all the respiratory tracts and make sure that you will wash all parts of the body thoroughly after having any contact with the sewage or any items touched by sewage.
Chemicals – Be very careful with the cleaning of your basement space because it may expose you to a very wide range of various contaminants, which include those from any of the cleaning agents being used. Moreover, be ready that some chemicals might have entered the space with the flood waters. Remember about the chemicals especially when you get to the cleaning stage, Guy Solomon advises to ventilate the space very well and try to limit the exposure to contact as much asit is possible.
Structural damage – This part is not very common, but a flood may certainly weaken your walls, flooring or even ceiling structures. If you think that there is any lack of structural integrity, or you just do not know about it for sure, it is highly advised not to enter the area and call for specialists.
