BASEMENT FLOODING SERVPRO ADVISES

6/25/2015 (Permalink)

Quickly Removing Unwanted Water

SERVPRO advises checking sump pump test before rain.

ST. LOUIS – The relentless rain is causing problems for some homeowners this week. Cleanup and restoration service SERVPRO'S have already started seeing a slight increase in flooded basements, and it's expecting a large influx of calls over the next few days.

Rick Bilbrey says most calls are about flooding from failed sump pumps and sewage backups. Homeowners often don't know a sump pump is broken until it doesn't work in wet conditions. And sewage backups occur when the pipes get flooded.

In the case of a failed sump pump, Bilbrey says to call a service immediately to remove the water and replace the pump. But if a sewage backup is causing the flooding, sometimes it's best to wait to call.

"You're just going to have to wait until it stops raining. Because I don't want you to waste your money on trying to suck up water that's just going to come back," said Bilbrey.

Bilbrey says what you can do, is use a wet/dry vac or towels to soak up the water until you get a service to help you. If it is a sewage backup, you should also get the drain cleared before you get your basement cleaned. Bilbrey says most importantly, you should check your sump pump now, ahead of more rain in the forecast, to make sure it's working.