Sump pump failure, finished basement and home gym in Elmhurst, IL

When the sump pump in this Elmhurst home stopped, the basement took on at least four inches of water, and the power was out on top of that. Dylan, the project manager on the call, made the first visit while the house was running on a generator. That first day the crew stabilized the space with two dehumidifiers and four air movers, though only one dehumidifier could run on the available power.

The scope rated the water Category 2, the grade for water that carries some contamination. The basement was finished, with carpet over pad, a gym floor and a run of lower cabinets under a countertop. The plan was to move the contents, pull the gym flooring, the carpet and the pad, take off baseboard and trim, detach the lower cabinets and help remove the countertop above them. The lower part of the walls was opened so air could reach the cavities behind the drywall, then the crew applied antimicrobial and set two dehumidifiers and fifteen air movers.

Drying took patience. At the first monitoring visit much of the material was close to dry, and the crew repositioned fans. At the owner's request they also sprayed and wiped the bottoms of the stored contents. Two days later a few areas still read high, so everything stayed. At the third check the wall studs were still reading wet in most areas; the crew moved the air movers, pulled one, and changed the dehumidifier filters. On the fourth visit every reading was dry and the last of the equipment came out, fifteen days after the first visit. Before leaving, the crew capped the four sink supply lines and the toilet supply line.