Mop ’til you Drop

We had a huge storm come through tonight. The rain was so intense that when I went out to unclog the drain at the end of our driveway, I discovered that the drain wasn’t clogged–the storm sewers just couldn’t take the water any faster.

Wow.

Anyway, once the storm started I checked the attic and the basement for water and both were bone dry. Unfortunately, that was a temporary state for the basement. Due to poor grading, when we get a heavy rain, we get a small amount of water coming through the North wall of the basement. Now this is much more of an inconvenience than a real problem as the basement is unfinished and anything even remotely of value down there is at least four inches off the floor.

So when we get a decent storm, some water leaks in just to the left of the toilet in the old basement bathroom. If the storm keeps going, a little more water will trickle in to the left of that in the Northwest corner of the basement. But if it really rains a lot, we’ll get a puddle of water at the foot of the basement stairs in the Northeast corner of the basement.

Well, this time we got more than a puddle–I’d say we got several quarts of water in through the various crevices. Fortunately, I’ve got a gargantuan commercial rope mop and 35 quart Rubbermaid mop bucket (with wringer!) that I got for $20 off Craigslist a few years ago. I poured in some hot water, bleach, and a little Pine-Sol and mopped up the water and gave the rest of the basement the once over while I was at it. Unlike the first time we mopped the basement, this only took about 5 buckets of water (and it was nowhere near as filthy).

Now the rain has tapered off and the basement smells fresh and clean. I’m heading to bed and I’ll leave the dehumidifier to take care of the rest.

One Response to “Mop ’til you Drop”

  1. Jocelyn Says:

    I know that rain made me bite my nails because we only have one layer of roof on. The roof will be completed next week thankfully.

    Glad it wasn’t any worse than that for you guys.

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