Flooded Basement in Kansas City? What to Do in the First Hour

Is it safe to go down there?

Only after the basement has no power. Standing water touching an outlet, a power strip, the furnace or the water heater can electrocute you, and nothing down there is worth that.

If the breaker panel is upstairs or in the garage, or you can reach it without stepping in water, shut off the main or the basement circuits. If the panel is in the flooded basement, stay on the stairs and call an electrician. The CDC's rule is simple: never turn power on or off, or touch anything electrical, while you are standing in water. Before the power goes back on, have an electrician check the system.

Smell gas? Don't touch a light switch. Get everyone outside and make the call from the yard.

Then look at the water itself. If it came up through the floor drain, or it is gray, brown or smells like sewer, assume it is sewage. Wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles, keep kids and pets upstairs, and throw out any food or medicine it touched. And if you borrow a gas-powered pump or generator, keep it outside, never in the basement or garage.

What do I do in the first hour?

Power off, stop the source, take pictures, then call for cleanup and call your insurer. Here is the order that protects you and your claim:

Is it a sump failure, a sewer backup or a burst pipe?

Check the sump pit, the floor drain and the ceiling. A full pit with a silent pump means groundwater got ahead of a failed pump. Dirty water rising out of the floor drain is a sewer backup. Water coming from above or from a supply line is plumbing.

Sump failure and groundwater. This is the classic Kansas City flood. The metro sits on dense clay that cannot soak up a fast spring thunderstorm, so the water runs to your foundation and the water level around the walls jumps. Your sump pump is the only thing moving that water out. When the same storm knocks out the power, or the float switch sticks, or a ten-year-old pump finally quits, the pit overflows and the floor fills with clear water. You may also see water at the wall-floor joint or coming through a crack. If the pit is full and the pump is silent, don't reach into the pit or unplug anything while you're standing in water. Get the power off first.

Sewer backup. Gray or black water coming up through the floor drain, a basement toilet or a laundry tub, usually with a smell you can't miss. Kansas City's combined sewer system, which carries storm runoff and sewage in the same pipes, covers 58 square miles of the older city, and parts of the system are up to 150 years old. A sewer backup can come from a public main that is overloaded or blocked, or from your own service line clogged with roots or grease. If it happens in dry weather and only to your house, your private line is the likely culprit.

Burst pipe. Clean water spraying or dripping from a supply line, the water heater, a washer hose, or the ceiling. It keeps coming until you close the main shutoff. A January cold snap is when pipes along outside walls give out.

Who do I report a sewer backup to?

In Kansas City, Missouri, report it to KC Water by calling 311 or (816) 513-1313. Outside KCMO, call your own city's public works or sewer utility, the one that sends your sewer bill.

KC Water is responsible for the public sanitary sewers, which usually run under the street or through backyards. When you or your plumber report a backup through the 311 Action Center, KC Water will inspect the main that serves your property and clean it if it needs it. KC Water's own newsletter says backups present health risks and should be dealt with as soon as possible.

The pipe from your house to that main, called the service lateral or private line, is yours to maintain. If the city main is clear and you still have a backup, call a licensed plumber. KC Water recommends having private lines cleaned regularly, especially where trees and big shrubs sit near the line.

If you live in Overland Park, Olathe, Independence, Lee's Summit, Liberty or another suburb, the sewer may be run by your city, a county agency or a district. Check your sewer bill for the name and call them. Either way, a report creates a record of the backup.

What will my insurance cover?

It depends on where the water came from, and on your own policy. As a general rule, a sudden burst pipe is often covered, groundwater flooding is often excluded, and sewer backup or sump overflow usually needs a separate endorsement.

• Burst pipe or appliance leak. Homeowners policies generally cover sudden and accidental discharge from plumbing. Insurers can deny a claim when they decide it came from neglect, such as a pipe allowed to freeze or a slow leak ignored for months.
• Groundwater through the foundation. Commonly excluded. The standard policy form excludes water below the ground surface that seeps or leaks through a foundation, which describes a lot of clay-soil flooding.
• Sewer backup or sump pump overflow. Excluded from a typical policy unless you added water backup coverage. Flood insurance doesn't cover it either.
• Outside flooding. The Missouri Department of Insurance notes that homeowners policies generally don't cover flood. Flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program covers only certain basement items, like the furnace, water heater and sump pump, and not finished walls, carpet or furniture.

Pull up your declarations page and call your agent. Keep damaged items until the adjuster sees them or says photos will do.

How fast does it have to dry before mold grows?

Within 24 to 48 hours. According to the EPA, if wet or damp materials are dried within 24 to 48 hours after a leak or spill, in most cases mold will not grow.

Hitting that window in a Kansas City basement is harder than it sounds. Summer humidity slows drying, and carpet pad, drywall, insulation and the bottom plates of framed walls hold water long after the floor looks dry. That is why professional drying relies on dehumidifiers and air movers plus moisture readings, not just open windows.

Some things are not worth saving. The CDC advises throwing out what you cannot clean and dry quickly, including carpet and padding, upholstered furniture, mattresses and paper goods. For sewage, the EPA recommends a professional with experience cleaning up after contaminated water. If you clean anything yourself, never mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner.

What does flooded basement cleanup involve?

Water removal, tear-out, cleaning and disinfecting, then drying until the readings say it is dry. Get a written estimate before work starts.

A water cleanup company usually starts with pumps and extraction for the standing water, then removes soaked carpet, pad, drywall and insulation that won't dry in time. Everything that stays gets cleaned, and after a sewer backup, disinfected. Dehumidifiers and air movers run until moisture meters show the concrete, framing and walls are back to normal.

Ask for the estimate in writing first. On a bad day it is easy to wave someone in and sort out the bill later. Don't. Get the scope on paper: what comes out, how long the equipment stays, how drying will be documented for your insurer, and what you owe if insurance pays less. Read carefully before signing anything that sends your insurance money straight to the contractor.

After the cleanup, how do I stop the next one?

Fix the way the water got in. A failed sump, groundwater pushing through clay-soaked walls, and a sewer line that backs up each have their own fix.

If the pump died or lost power, look at a properly sized primary pump with a battery backup. See sump pumps and battery backups and our sump pump installation cost guide for Kansas City. If water came through the walls or the floor joint, start with gutters, downspouts and grading, covered in why is my basement leaking. If it keeps coming, the long-term fix is a drainage system. See basement waterproofing and exterior excavation waterproofing. If the flood left a musty smell behind, read musty basement smell and mold.

If it was a sewer backup, have a plumber camera your private line, ask whether a backwater valve makes sense for your plumbing, and add water backup coverage to your policy.

For the bigger picture, start with our overview of basement waterproofing in Kansas City. When the water is gone, call (816) 816-3650 and press 2, and we connect you with a local waterproofing company. Ask them to show you where the water is getting in and to put the quote in writing.