We left off yesterday with the discovery of a fountain bubbling “black gold” underneath the sink in my laundry room.
Even though water comes up the whole and spreads the entire length of the basement, it does not get deep because of the waterproofing Joe and I had done in 2001. As part of the work, they poured pourous concrete around the perimeter of the basement. So when water comes up it spreads and goes back down once it hits the concrete. It only accumulates in the basement’s center where it is regular concrete. There is no chance for water to get deep. (My neighbors got 12 inches in their basement.)
What Goes Around Comes Around
The official word from the sewer company is 5 inches of rain fell that Monday night. No storm sewer system can hold that much at one time. People got flooded that have never gotten flooded before. City Hall even got it. As one neighbor said
“Hopefully it was sewage so they get a taste of their own medicine.”
Sister Sludge
The fountain stopped by the morning of 5/13 and most of the water drained away, leaving behind sludge and lots of it.
I called off work and started hauling things out to the curb but there was not much as most items are in plastic tubs.
When it came to the mopping and sludge clean up, I called filed an insurance claim Wednesday morning as I just could not do it. It seemed no matter whether I used the squeegee or mop or broom, I got nowhere.
Once the claim was filed, I called the company recommended to me by my insurance company and they put me on a waiting list 3 – 4 days long just to make an appointment to have the cleaning done. Then the company called me and said they were bringing in a Pennsylvania company to help with the backlog.
On Friday 5/16 the company showed up and started mopping, spraying a disinfectant and mold inhibitor, and left 3 dehumidifiers and 6 fans. As I write this post it is late Sunday afternoon and the equipment is still running. The company will be back Monday morning (5/19) to pick up the equipment as the humidity level in the basement and the dampness of the concrete to be in normal range by then.
The equipment left makes a lot of noise so sleeping has been an adventure. Last night I was able to sleep through most of the night. Rommie seems to have no problem sleeping at all.
“Wanna Go Bye-Byes?”
With all this equipment running, I take Rommie with me everywhere as I do not want her home alone should the fans and dehumidifiers crap out and start a fire. The company checked the house’s electrical circuit before hooking them up but you never know.
Rommie loves it every time I ask her if she is ready to go bye-byes. We tootled around town running errands, including me getting a free bottle of O.P.I nail polish at Ulta. I was all over that coupon when it hit my email Saturday morning. I got “Live, Love Carnival” a orangish, peachy, citrus color from their “Brazil” collection, a perfect antidote to the brownish sludge in my life.
Then as a treat for Rommie we went to Petco for a bag of her favorite liver-snaps. While there we saw her golden “cousins” as Golden Retrievers In Need (G.R.I.N.) was there. She had fun sniffing everyone and being petted by all the volunteers.
So despite all the sludge in our house, we managed to have some fun time this past weekend.
Coming tomorrow – Sewer Rats Part 3 – Back to Normal
JoyReturns 
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