How much it would cost if you had a flood in your basement?

The good news is, after the severe cold and all that snow, now the temperatures are warming up!

The bad news is, the ground is still partially frozen, and all the rain that is expected to fall in our region might cause flooding when the ice jams on the Delaware River break.
All that water is expected to affect homes and businesses in Trenton and Hamilton New Jersey and Bucks County, Pennsylvania in the next 24 hours.

Have you ever thought what it would cost if your home or business got flooded?

Here’s a neat interactive way from (imported from the FloodSmart.gov site) to estimate how much flood damage might cost you based upon:
1. the size of the property and
2. how many inches of water invade the building
http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/flash/costofflooding/CostOfFlooding.swf

Using this tool, a 3 inches of water flooding the basement of your 2,000 square foot home could cost as much as $22,590.00! This number includes the cost of damages to both the contents AND the structure. And, if you have a commercial property this cost could go up exponentially as the size of the building increases.

Now that you know the possible costs, you might want to consider contacting your insurance agent and purchasing flood insurance. This is a separate policy from your standard homeowner’s policy. You will need to talk to your agent to find out if you have coverage, and what that coverage is. Specifically, if you do have flood insurance, do you have insurance to cover both the contents as well as the structure? Because these are 2 separate policies . . .

However, the policy won’t begin to pay you for damages until 30 days after purchase.

So what are you to do if you do get a flood in your basement this weekend?

Water flooding this basement in Hamilton, NJ got as high as 2 feet!

First, understand that over the ground flood water is considered toxic Category 3 water because what started out as rain or river water flowed across the ground picking up microbes and bacteria.
It’s not just water that came into your house – your neighbor’s fertilizer and dog poop came with it too! So, always wear wear protective clothing if you need to enter a flooded space.

Second, check for damages to your water, gas, electric or sewer lines. If you hear a “hissing” noise, turn the gas off and call the gas and electric company ASAP. And, make sure you get your furnace and hot water heater checked for damage.

Make sure you get a professional to check your heating system after a flood

Next, if the structure and utilities are safe, you can get all the water pumped out. But before you do, make sure you take pictures to create a photo record of the all the damages – whether you have flood insurance or not!

Then, it’s time to start removing any wet carpeting, furniture, bedding, books, drywall – anything that was in your basement that could hold water.

This must be done as quickly as possible because bacteria and mold will start to grow within 24 to 48 hours.
And you really don’t want your flooded basement to contaminate the rest of your home or business.

Once the floodwater is removed, dehumidifiers, air filtration, and air movement are critical to protecting the health of your family and employees

After that, it’s time to clean and sanitize everything that came in contact with the flood water.

Once the area is sanitized, it’s time to dry it out with fans and dehumidifiers! This process usually takes a few days, depending upon the structure and how much moisture affected the concrete.

Or you could just call us! 877-750-7876

These are all the steps that PuroClean Emergency Recovery Services follow when assisting flood damaged communities in the Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Regions. And, our certified technicians are trained to care for your property fast, decreasing the chance that you, your family, or your employees could become sick from exposure to toxic water!