Laundry-related basement flood. How did you clean up?

[Anonymous]

So our washing machine overflowed today and flooded our basement with about a half-inch of water. The water was probably there for a couple of hours. We have a ceramic tile floor, so we're not too worried about that. But the baseboards certainly got wet. We don't know if the bottom of the drywall is wet, too.

We've shop-vac'ed the water and removed all of the wet items from the basement. We're going to have some industrial dryers brought in. Our contractor also told us they wanted to remove and replace the baseboards to help dry behind them, in order to forestall any potential mold growth. We're wondering if that last step -- removal of the baseboards -- is really necessary.

If you've lived through a similar situation, how did you handle it and, specifically, do you think tearing up the baseboards is necessary?

[Anonymous]

But might sound overkill, but rent large dehumidifiers to dry the place. You do not want mold. Do it within 24 hours.

[Anonymous]

depends how low your drywall goes, i would hire a pro

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Yes we are having dehumidifiers and fans brought in by the contractor. What we are trying to figure out is whether we need to have them tear up the walls.

[Anonymous]

if you are drying no more than 24-48 hours after the flood, you are probably fine. There will most likely be no mold. You probably need to tear up the baseboard, but not the drywall-- it will dry and it might be slightly deteriorated at the end, but new baseboard will cover any deterioration.

it is not a big deal to remove the baseboard -- I wouldn't call it "tear up the wall."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if you are drying no more than 24-48 hours after the flood, you are probably fine. There will most likely be no mold. You probably need to tear up the baseboard, but not the drywall-- it will dry and it might be slightly deteriorated at the end, but new baseboard will cover any deterioration.

it is not a big deal to remove the baseboard -- I wouldn't call it "tear up the wall."

OP's DW here. In this case, tearing out the baseboards will be a nightmare, because the floor was leveled and installed after them, so we need to get under the floor level to get them out. So the question is: is that really necessary? The water recovery contractor, who admitted the damage was minor but was clearly in sales mode, says the drywall is not wet. The shoe molding clearly is, but that's easy to remove. The water was not higher than the shoe molding.

[Anonymous]

I see. In this case, and as long as you got the dehumidifiers very quickly after the event, which seems to be the case, and as long as the baseboard is wood and not MDF or something spongy, you will most likely be fine without removing them.

[Anonymous]

BTW, you should run a regular dehumidifier for a while after they are done with their big dehumidifiers. It's not a bad idea to run it for a year or so -- no downside, and mold prevention.

[Anonymous]

You should pull away the baseboard so that the drywall behind it can dry even quicker. It doesn't damage the baseboards to do this. They're just held on with a few nails and caulk (cut the caulk first before you crowbar)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if you are drying no more than 24-48 hours after the flood, you are probably fine. There will most likely be no mold. You probably need to tear up the baseboard, but not the drywall-- it will dry and it might be slightly deteriorated at the end, but new baseboard will cover any deterioration.

it is not a big deal to remove the baseboard -- I wouldn't call it "tear up the wall."

OP's DW here. In this case, tearing out the baseboards will be a nightmare, because the floor was leveled and installed after them, so we need to get under the floor level to get them out. So the question is: is that really necessary? The water recovery contractor, who admitted the damage was minor but was clearly in sales mode, says the drywall is not wet. The shoe molding clearly is, but that's easy to remove. The water was not higher than the shoe molding.

Can you pull away a tiny section of baseboard in an obscure corner, just to check the drywall behind it? That's what I'd do.