Flooded Basement Water Removal in the United States

To keep the work on track, stay out of the water and call. If the upstairs panel is dry and reachable, kill power to the basement circuits.

To keep the work on track, not until power to the area is off. A basement holds the panel, the furnace and dozens of outlets near floor level.

For a decisive response, then the water came from inside the house. The three common culprits are a water heater at the end of its life, a burst washing machine hose, and a split supply line.

For a decisive response, a shop vacuum handles about an inch of clean water on bare slab. Past that, or once carpet, pad or stored contents are involved, the water you cannot see becomes the problem.

For a decisive response, nationally, an unfinished basement with a few inches runs about $1,500 to $4,000 including drying. A finished basement with a foot of water runs about $5,000 to $15,000.

For a decisive response, water removal is usually finished the day we start. Drying a below grade space commonly takes four to seven days, longer than the three to five days an upstairs room needs.

To control the loss, solid wood, metal, glass, plastics and most sealed contents clean up fine. Cardboard, paper goods, particleboard shelving and carpet padding rarely come back.