One of the after effects of flood includes having a flooded basement. If you are pumping out water from a flooded basement, try to remove the mud and debris while it is still moist. Wipe out the walls to remove as much silt as possible before it dries. Floors and walls requires special attention if sewage has entered the basement. You can use disinfecting solution to scrub walls and floors. 1 cup chlorine bleach per gallon of water is ideal for this purpose.

Sometimes you may encounter water damage restoration oil stains which are caused by damaged or overturned oil tanks. In such case various commercial products, available from fuel-oil suppliers, will help neutralize fuel oil. These commercial products come in powder form or an aerosol spray for hard-to-reach places. You can remove stubborn oil stains and destroy odor by wiping up excess oil, shaking or spraying product on the spot according to manufacturer's directions. Once it is set, and then sweeps it up.

By means of hit and trials researchers have established a procedure to get rid of flooded basement. This can be broken down into following steps:

Drain the Flood Water from the Flooded Basement

You can start this step by picking up one or two small portable pumps from your home improvement store or local hardware.

These portable pumps can be fitted using either a garden hose or a larger diameter drain hose. If you can, spend the money on the larger drain hose. A high capacity pump is one which can push more water through the bigger fitting. Always be sure to buy enough drain hose so that you can get the water far away from the foundation of your house, otherwise the water can re-enter your basement.

Take note of the intake area while shopping for the pumps. Some types of pumps will have the ability to drain the water almost all the way to the floor, while other pumps may not give you 100% results and may leave 3/8" deep puddles (or more) on the concrete.

Point to be noted here is that if your basement is seriously flooded, you may need to contact your local fire department for serious pump out chores. In case of serious flood mopping up the basement floor will not be easy. Once the portable pumps are done with their job, big puddles are all that should remain.

If at home, you have a wet/dry shop vacuum; it's the right time to put it to work.

If you can get extra help from your friend or family member it would ease your pain of cleaning a flooded basement. One person can take the charge of shop broom to consolidate the puddles, while the other person mans the vacuum.

Flooded Basement Drying

Now once all the standing water is removed from the basement, you'll be left with a seriously damp basement. It's this time that dehumidifier comes into picture. For best results, the dehumidifier must run 24/7 for days to dry out the moist basement air and saturated concrete.

Many dehumidifiers come with an auto-shut off switch that turns off when the catch bucket is full. If the unit has a drain fitting on the bucket to attach a garden hose, you can run it continuously. But you need to be cautious while using electric equipments because as you know that electricity and water are never a good mix. Be sure to avoid any shocking situations.