If you have ever had water problems that have created water damage in your house then you know what a pain it is to try cleaning water damage. It is not so bad if the water damage is minimal and in a small area but in most cases water damage happens when you are not home to catch it when it first starts and then you have a huge problem to deal with.

Several years ago we lived in Indiana just outside of Indianapolis in a relatively rural area but in a subdivision of about fifteen homes. Our property’s back lot line was a creek and our side lot could not be built on because it was in the flood line from some farm land just to our north. The water table was really low in our area and the creek was only about sixty feet from our back door.

I know the water table was low because our well pump died in the first six months we lived there and my home warranty did not cover it. My neighbour and I were able to get it out and replace both the pump and water hose with flexible tubing that was only forty three feet long.

Being in a rural area enabled us to see a wide variety of wildlife including deer, raccoon and beavers. Little did we know that the beaver would create such great problems with flooding over the next few years? That fall we went on a long weekend vacation over Labor Day and came home to torrential rains that had caused our creek to overflow the bridge and road leading to our house. After we reached our house I found that there was about three inches of water in the basement. The sump pump had died and due to the atrocious weather condition, the outside drains had emptied into the basement.

Our basement was three fourths finished and the rest was bare concrete by the sump well. I got a new sump pump and installed it to start removal of the water. I even got a submersible pump from our neighbor to keep more water from coming into the basement.

The biggest problem was that the creek’s water level had covered the exit pipe for the sump well so that as soon as the sump pumped, the water flowed right in. Once the rains had stopped it still took a few days for the water to stop pouring into the sump well and the creek level to go down.

At that time I started to vacuum up the water which submersible pump could not remove with my wet/dry shop vacuum. It must have taken over one hundred vacuum loads full of water before we no longer squished when we walked on the carpet.

Then came the task of cleaning the water damage, I had to purchase an industrial strength carpet cleaner with deodorizers and an additive to kill mold and bacteria. Then I had to rent an industrial or commercial carpet water damage cleaner to make sure it got all the way through to the carpet base. Luckily, the carpet had no padding so it could not witness the growth of mold.

My next step was to rent a couple of high velocity fans to help completely dry out the carpet and borrow a good dehumidifier to keep the humidity low enough so that molds and bacteria would not grow. Once I had addressed the carpet issue, I had to look at the damage on the furniture, drywall and baseboards.

My next purchases were Murphy’s Oil Soap for the baseboards and Pledge for the furniture legs once I had finished cleaning the water damage. Murphy’s Oil Soap diluted with some water was a great way to remove the water stains and marks on the wood and the Pledge polish restored the finish well.

We did not have any issues with having to clean any upholstery, window treatments or other fabrics, so we did not need a dry cleaner or special cleaners for fabrics in our washing machine. Cleaning water damage can be easily taken care off if handled in a methodical manner and in the right order. Take your time and do the job right by choosing the proper methods and cleaners.

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