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I live in Iowa, and last week we had some major rain. My county was declared a disaster area. My craft room was flooded. Thankfully, it was just rainwater seepage AND most of my things were up high enough that they didn't really get soaked. The only thing that I shed tears over was a basket of special cards that I kept nearby for demonstration and inspiration. We were luckier than many others who had several feet of water, so I hate to complain.
However, everything is really, really damp. We set files and drawers of paper out of the water's reach, but the paper is so damp that it's hard to even cut.
Has anyone been through this before? What is the best way to dry things out so they are usable again? Or, will they ever be usable?
One of the good things is that I HAD to go through everything! Now, I'm culling out things I never used or no longer use. Hopefully, it will be even easier to create when I'm able to get my room back :-) The sump pump, four fans and the dehumidifier is going!
I learned from our basement flooding before to keep pictures and stuff in tupperware containers. Ours was due to our subpump stop working. I had to throw a bunch of stuff that had wierd smells and wrecked tons of pictures.Sorry that happened to you.
I don't have any suggestions, but just wanted to say that I am sorry that happened. I now that a LONG time ago we had basement flooding and had to get rid of a lot of stuff - but not much of value.
Just to say sorry, that's not fun.
I know when my DH's office was flooded, they had the dehumidifiers running for what seemed liked months, so it was at least a couple of weeks. I hope you get your room up and running again soon.
aww, that's never happened to us but sending many ((hugs)) your way. sorry this happened to you guys! i'm glad that not too much was ruined!
__________________ mommy to 3 handsome boys and a beautiful little princess!! michael 11/8/96, samuel 10/25/01, brandon 6/16/05, and olivia 7/12/07 (-16)
What rotten luck! I had a flooded basement many years ago and lost boxes of books. I wasn't a cardmaker at the time so I didn't have your issue. I don't have any tips for you. Hope everything works out.
__________________ Mary Ann GALLERY Fan Club member since 4/08
We just went through the exact same thing. I live in Wisconsin and we had very bad rains/flooding at the end of Febrauary. Our sump pump died and we got 3 inches of water in the basement. The advice from the clean-up company was to leave all of my craft supplies in the room while they had the dehumidifiers and fans going. It was the fastest way to get the moisture and humidity out of your stuff. I had to bring it back down because I had brought the totes up to the main floor. In the end, I lost some paper, but miraculously most of my supplies survived the mess. (thanks to my obsession with totes).
I feel for you and hope everything goes well.
Nancy
Oh I feel for you. My last house was in a flood zone and we had to do the same (have dehumidifiers and snail fans in the level that was flooded). It's no picnic. Make sure your drywall/sheetrock is thoroughly dry when they are done. You do not want to take a chance on mold.
Like the suggestion by AlbiaStamper. If anything will take out the moisture, it would be those dehumidifiers!
There is a product called Driz. You can get it in RV stores, Wal-Mart RV area and some hardware stores. It will wick the moisture out of your supplies.
I use this in out storage shop because I have my leather saddles and paperwork stored in there and it works!
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
Flooded Stampin Room
