Phase 1 Success

  I spent all of today's energy getting the basement dried out. This is the primary room. The couch you can see the end of usually would be against the right wall where I've pulled back the wet rug. I got that moved on to now-dry concrete. Also note the three large bookcases against the back wall. They are pressboard, and they are sitting on wet carpet. You know what has to be done.

It took a lot of time, but I got all of those moved. Then Cathy came over to help me do a couple of things I didn't think I could do alone.

It's not in a picture, but Omer has a big old heavy wooden desk- the kind that used to be used by schoolteachers. The water had seeped almost to the wall behind that desk. I could either lift it or pull the carpet out from under it but not both at the same time. We got that done together.

Om is not home, but via phone we decided that it isn't reasonable to try to save this carpeting. It's really old, dirty, and now soaking wet. I really have no place to dry it. So, all that was left for Cathy and I to do was get the rest of the wet carpet out. Thankfully, the water did not reach the part of the wall you can see on the left. So we cut the carpet off beyond the damp seep and dragged the wet stuff outside to be disposed of later.

It looks as if I got everything dried out in time to prevent any mold in the walls. Nothing of importance was damaged. By hustling and getting some things moved yesterday that were more vulnerable, the water did not seep into anything of value. Of course, when Om gets home we have to decide what to do to cover the floor, move all the rest of the stuff, cover the floor, and put everything back. It's total chaos, but at least that doesn't all have to happen in the next 24 hours. And, we'll probably have to pay to get rid of the old carpeting.

I'm exceptionally happy to have been able to do this without calling in one of those companies that deal with this sort of thing. I know several people with horror stories from using them. I'd rather work my tail off than use one.

Next step- wait to hear if this water heater can be fixed, or if we have to get a new one.

A satisfactory conclusion to one of life's rather unpleasant surprises.

See Not the Day I Planned