That's it, I have to get out of this house

bnwalker2

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The basement has flooded AGAIN. It's 4 a.m. and there is 2 inches of water covering my bedroom. I'm wet, the bed is wet, the animals are wet, everything is just soaked. This is the fifth time in 6 months that this has happened. And this time I have no vacuum to clean it up with. I don't know what to do.

The deal is, we have a sump pump. It has turns on ok but doesn't shut itself off ever, so has to be manually shut off. John's dad gets angry if he hears it run dry for even a second so we've taken to just unplugging it at night and checking it every couple hours. Even when it hasn't rained for days, the basement still floods where we live.

We're having a ton of rain, so of course the sump pump has to work overtime. Last night however it was running dry around 1 a.m. so John went over and when he came back he said he had fixed it.

I just woke up to a very wet kitten climbing on me. I woke John up, who said "I need my sleep, I'm going up to the couch" and left the basement. Leaving me to clean up everything. And no way to do it.

I have been crying my eyes out ever since. I just laid back down, there are wet cat footprints all over my sheet and blanket. There were two piles of kitten poop on the bed... I guess they couldn't figure out that they could still get to the litter box. At least my pillow is mostly dry. I honestly can't take much more of this, I just want out of here. And John said he doesn't understand what there is to be upset about and that I just need to calm down. He gets to go sleep on the couch for a few more hours and then get up and go to work today and doesn't have to do a thing to clean this all up... so of course its no big deal to him.

Right now I just want to give up, honestly the way I feel right now I just want to take the animals and go far away and never come back.
 

laureen227

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i have no advice, just a listening ear & a sympathetic
i'd be crying, too, in your situations - it's my standard stress/frustration reaction!
this too shall pass... trite, but true!
 

katz4life

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Aww I hope everything gets better
Hang in there even though its tough
 

pookie-poo

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Originally Posted by bnwalker2

I honestly can't take much more of this, I just want out of here. And John said he doesn't understand what there is to be upset about and that I just need to calm down. He gets to go sleep on the couch for a few more hours and then get up and go to work today and doesn't have to do a thing to clean this all up... so of course its no big deal to him.

Right now I just want to give up, honestly the way I feel right now I just want to take the animals and go far away and never come back.
Ummm...I think I'd do exactly that. Pack up the kitties and get a hotel room. Leave a "Dear John" note, saying..."Here's the number. Give me a call when the basement's clean and dry." Maybe he'll be able to manifest a little more empathy after he does the cleaning up.
 
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bnwalker2

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Well, with the help of large towels and a heater, I've managed to get the bedroom almost dry.. just a couple wet patches here and there but there's now a path at least to get around the room and clean the rest of the water up. The rest of the basement is another story but that's not really my concern and it will dry up eventually. After the first flood we learned that nothing is safe on the floor, so nothing of value got wet this time (except of course, all of the animals, but they too will dry). I'm running on about 2 solid hours of sleep, and I still have to clean up some more and I have to still walk across the basement every few minutes to turn the sump pump on/off.

But I am starting to feel a bit better now that the water is slowly drying up. I just have to keep watching the sump pump so it doesn't flood all over again.
 

tab

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i'm sorry you're having such a difficult time. hopefully you'll be able to get some sleep tonight, everything is much harder when you're dog tired.
for you.
 

EnzoLeya

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Oh dear!!!!! That's really stinks! My parents house also floods and that's where my bedroom was!!!!

What we did was take down all the paneling and put mud putty all over the walls/floors/cracks/everything! It's helped, but still didn't fix the problem. Then we dug up the ground around the house where if leaked the worst and put some sort of plastic around the house and banked the dirt around the house. That helped sooooo much. Also, the gutters have to be clean or the water can't run away from the house. I'm not sure if you are somewhere that you can do that, but it will save you so much hassel!!
 

goldenkitty45

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That's so frustrating. And John's reaction is totally uncalled for. If he really cared about you and everything, he would be helping to clean up, not leave you with the mess.

I like the idea of hotel/Dear John letter
Might make him more motivated to get you guys out to a better place really soon.

I pray that you will find your own place in the next few months. Spring is coming and with it rain - not fair to have to worry about things getting wet, damanged, etc.
 

russian blue

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So sorry you're going through this!


Water, especially in your home, can bring many problems. Mold is the top issue and can lead to health complications in humans and animals. Here's an article on toxic mold and cats.

Cats and Mold

You said you have had many water problems. Please check behind your walls/flooring/baseboards. If you see any mold, you have to get rid of it or it will really spread.

Here's some info on proper clean up procedures:

Cleaning Mold
 

swampwitch

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Oh no! I know how you feel. Our basement flooded one week after I had spent five long days cleaning and organizing it. The clean-up crew came and went through everything and afterwards it was in a terrible state of chaos. I half-heartedly worked to get it somewhat organized again.

Three weeks later, our hot water heater blew its door off and sprayed rusty water everywhere and was pouring water into the basement again. It happened late at night, just as we were headed for bed. I curled up in the fetal position on the sofa while my husband dealt with it. I just couldn't handle it again.

So my heart goes out to you.

Unfortunately, you need to clean up the other part of the basement, too. The crew that came the first time told me after three days, things start getting moldy and that's dangerous.

I hope things improve. And your husband owes you!
 
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bnwalker2

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Thanks everyone! As for the mold, there is nothing that the water can get to really to cause mold... we have no flooring aside from the concrete, no baseboards, no walls aside from the concrete walls. Nothing is on the floors (aside from a couple bags of trash that have to go outside anyway). The only things that were on the floor in our bedroom were litter boxes and dog crates... dog's bedding is already in the dryer and litter boxes have been thoroughly dried underneath.

The first time it flooded, we did have a ton of stuff down here that got destroyed... it's all been thrown away. So no worries about mold from that stuff. It's really not as bad now as it seemed at 4 a.m. It's just incredibly frustrating to wake up from a wonderful sleep and put your feet in standing water! The rest of the basement is almost completely dry already. Our bedroom is dry now aside from the one spot where the floor is uneven. I've got the heater on that spot and have rags down to sop it up. I've carried so many loads of wet rags, and dog blankets up to the laundry!

I've learned my lesson... from now on if it's pouring rain I just need to set my alarm to go off often so I can check on the sump pump!
 

mrblanche

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You know, if the sump pump isn't working properly, I'd let it run dry and burn out.

Seems like these things always bunch up all at once, doesn't it?
 

gardenandcats

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Is there any way to get the sump pump to work the correct way? So that it turns off and on the way is should?
 

carolpetunia

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

You know, if the sump pump isn't working properly, I'd let it run dry and burn out.
An excellent plan! Sometimes people have to be pushed into doing what's obviously necessary.
 

just1cat

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Maybe I missed it, but why does your sump pump run all the time. I would buy one with a float sensor that way it only kicks on as needed. IMO the whole situation should be manageable and avoidable with the right sump pump.
 
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