If your basement flooded, it probably seemed like one of the biggest disasters you could deal with in your own home. Water damage can be frightening. If you don’t get it cleaned up it can lead to all sorts of problems with mold and rotten belongings. Then you have the structural damage and potential health hazards. Hiring someone to cleanup the flood damage can be expensive, so many people opt to start the clean up work themselves. Here are a few places to start when it comes to cleaning the water out of your basement.

1. Get the water out. If it’s just a little bit of water, like from a window well or only covering a small area, you can probably use a wet vac. If you don’t have one, you can rent a heavy duty one from your local hardware store. If it is a lot of water, however, you will need to get something to suck the water out an away from your home.

2. If you got all of the water out and everything is starting to dry out fairly quickly, then you’re in luck. You might not have to replace carpet and dry wall if it dried without causing mold. If it took days to dry out, however, you will need to assess the damage. You can pull up a corner of the carpet to check for mold. And keep an eye on the drywall to make sure that it isn’t developing mold.

3. Get rid of anything that is molded or rotten. Don’t try to save furniture or drywall if it appears to be molded or affected structurally. Mold can grow in places you can’t even see or wouldn’t think to look. So make sure that you inspect any area that was wet for the next few weeks. If you smell mold or see water damage, have it treated or replace it.

Basement flooding is never fun, and the clean up isn’t either. If the damage seems to extensive, or if the structure of your home is affected, it is better to hire professionals who know how to handle these situations. But if it’s just a little water from rain or a broken sprinkler, you can probably tackle the problem yourself if you use a little precaution.

If you have frequent flooding in your basement, or if your basement was dug below the water table, you should consider a submersible sump. Get more information from this site: http://submersiblesump.org