Well, last we left off C and I had just emptied the basement.
Once the basement was empty, C cleaned the basement first with Lysol and then after it all dried (a few days later) he used bleach. It was the only thing we could do in order to try to get rid of some of the smell.
It was still pretty cold in the house because the circuit board was fried on the furnace. It took a few days to get the new board in stock. But, it wasn't too bad. The next few days were warmer and sunny.
My mom came over one day and helped us clean the things we were going to keep. Although I have to say this whole experience taught me that the chemicals you can buy at the store are worthless. Seriously, read the fine print. Bleach may kill 99.9% of bacteria, but there is always a little asterix next to the statement. It doesn't kill ALL bacteria, only a certain strain. And NOTHING you can find at Walgreens or jewel can kill mold. I guess that's why the pro's cost so much money...
The quote the pros gave us over the phone was 2,000-2,500 for the square footage of the basement. When they got to the house they estimated it being closer to 3 or 4k. But that's OK, I had a feeling the original price was low. We showed them the basement, and asked if they could keep the wood paneling. They said no. It had to go. So they basically just took a circular saw and cut the entire basement wood paneling off. Thus making our "partially finished basement, no longer anywhere close to being finished.
I think one of the scariest parts was after the techs took off all the wood paneling they already found mold growing. It was nothing serious, only a patch of mold about 3 inches in diameter. They were able to get rid of it with special antimicrobial spray stuff. I was shocked. It had been less than a week. But I guess that's what happens when you get water. The told us not to worry, concrete is porous and would absorb the spray solution stuff. As long as the basement dried properly, we wouldn't have to worry.
It took over a week for the basement to dry. Unfortunately, that also increased the cost. It ended up costing $6,000 to properly clean and dry the basement.
Of course none of that includes any of the amount of damage to the walls any of the furniture or other possessions we lost.
And... insurance didn't cover any of it. Insurance doesn't cover "acts of God." Although I should call it an "act of stupidity." Apparently some moron didn't open the deep tunnel in Chicago and that was the main cause of the problem. Anyway, I called the insurance company and said there was water in the basement, we don't know how it got in. It could have been coming in through the window wells, or up through the sinks, or the sump pump, we have no idea. They said they don't cover water coming in through the window wells, and we don't have flood insurance which would cover it coming up through the sinks. And we don't have sump pump failure insurance which would cover if the sump pump failed.
Let me just say, Lesson Learned. Now we have sump pump failure insurance (a few hundred a year), flood insurance ($1,000 ish a year), and major appliance failure insurance ($20 a year). Major appliance failure insurance is if your water heater or washer burst and flooded your entire basement. Basically, I never want to deal with this ever again. It was hell.
Just an FYI - Insurance only covers permanent possessions. Walls, carpet, washer/dryer, furnace. So that real expensive surround system you have in your basement? You'll get nothing for that. Not even $10.
It is now almost a year later (10ish months) and we are JUST starting to redo the basement. More on that later.
The damage -
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I guess I do a combination of everything. (including nothing). I upload some of them to Facebook. I make some of them into photobooks. (Left and Below) .jpg)
I used the instructions here - http://www.sunset.com/garden/backyard-projects/ultimate-raised-bed-how-to-00400000011938/
In the months since the flood, I even built an elevated Rubbermaid rack. Notice the bottom shelf is elevated. See, originally I thought I was smart. Cardboard is porous, but Rubbermaid containers are not. So if we ever did get water, all our "stuff" would be safe! WRONG. When you get 11 inches of water Rubbermaid containers get buoyant and float and then turn to a side. Then water gets in the containers because the top is not waterproof. I knew the top wasn't waterproof, but I didn't think about the fact that the container would get buoyant and then flip on its side. Live and learn...
