Water Damage

Tom Kraeutler
Home Improvement Expert
Friday, June 30, 2006 11:00 AM

Throughout the Washington, D.C., area, the interiors and exteriors of people's homes have been damaged -- or worse -- by the rains that have waterlogged the region in recent days.

How to handle the mess, repairs and clean-up? Home improvement expert Tom Kraeutler was online to take your questions. Tom, a home improvement journalist with more than 20 years of experience as a professional home inspector, is co-host of The Money Pit , a call-in show broadcast locally on WJFK-FM (106.7).

For more, visit The Post's online Home Improvement section for information on upkeep, maintenance, repairs and more.

The transcript follows.

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Tom Kraeutler: Good morning everyone! Well, it certainly has been a very wet month with lots of leaky roofs, doors and windows, as well as flooding in basements and backyards. Therefore, I am very happy to help answer as many of your questions as I can.

Just so you know my background, before hosting The Money Pit I spent almost 20 years as a professional home inspector. In fact, I received my home inspection training right here in Washington, D.C., so I am very familiar with your construction practices. WDC-area homes are a diverse bunch, with construction techniques that vary from very old to very modern. However, the principles of how to keep your home leak-free are the same for all.

Now let's get started!

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Fairfax, Va.: After flooding in spring 2003, we had a waterproofing company install a drainage system with two sump pumps. So far it has worked beautifully. I worry that if the power goes out, however, we're sunk. My husband thinks we could last quite a while without power, as the 150 feet of drainage pipe and two sump pump wells would be able to hold a lot of water before overflowing. Your thoughts?

Tom Kraeutler: First, I almost never, ever recommend so-called "Water Proofing" contractors. There is a lot of fraud in that industry. Typically, they will cold-call homes after major rain storms, make appointments when only the "decision makers" are home, and then proceed to panic-peddle an overpriced pumping system by telling you your home is headed for total annihilation unless you sign on the dotted line right now.

What they leave out of the sales pitch is that most wet basements can be solved by improving your grading and drainage at the foundation perimeter. Generally, this is as simple as (1) heading out to the local Home Depot and picking up a few bucks worth of gutter guards and downspout extenders; and (2) adding clean fill dirt to the foundation perimeter sloped away from the house. These two steps will solve 90 percent of all wet basement problems.

Now as for your power concern, your basement won't stay dry for long if you are relying totally on those pumps. My advice is to extend the gutters, regrade the immediate foundation perimeter and then, if you must, purchase a back-up generator and have an electrician wire it to a transfer switch so it comes on whenever the power goes out.

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West Hyattsville, Md.: Hi, and thanks for your time. I feel fortunate that my basement flooded with only three inches of mucky/muddy water in the laundry room, which has tiled floor, and only partially in the finished section, which is carpeted. I cleaned the laundry room floor with about 80 percent bleach. I tried to vacuum the carpet to remove water and it is still a bit soppy and I have a fan constantly blowing to help it dry. Is it necessary for me to remove the entire carpet? I'm concerned with mold/mildew growing underneath the carpet, if that is indeed possible. Should I remove the wet section or can I wait for it to dry and steam clean the entire carpet? Thanks very much for your reply!

Tom Kraeutler: Carpet is ALWAYS a bad idea in a basement. Even if it doesn't flood, it is usually damp enough to allow mold to grow. If the carpet is still wet, go to a local rental yard and rent a commercial steam cleaner and purchase a cleaning solution designed to work with that machine that includes a mildicide. This will clean any debris that may remain and hopefully reduce the chance that mold will grow. But to my original point, this is also an EXCELLENT time to remove that carpet and put in hard flooring like a laminate, tile or vinyl floor.

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Washington, D.C.: We just closed on a house a few weeks ago. Our roof leaked with the rain this week, causing some sagging in the ceiling and damaging two freshly painted walls. Do I have any recourse with the home inspector? What is the best way to go about repairing the water damage and ensure that mold doesn't start growing?

Tom Kraeutler: It depends. Home inspectors can only report on the home at the time of inspection. If it was a dry day and there were no visible sings of leaks or evidence that the roof was improperly installed, then there was nothing the inspector could have done to catch this. However, if the home had an obvious history of leaks, then certainly this should have been an issue. The Standards of Practice for home inspectors are established by the American Society of Home Inspectors. Check their web site for more info.

At the least, you should contact your home inspector, tell him or her what happened, and ask if they would be willing to return to the home for a look and to discuss why it may not have been picked up in the home inspection.

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Bowie, Md.: I have a wet basement that has mostly carpet and when water is removed and you've the soaked padding, how do you know if you've removed any associated mold/mildew?

I'm planning to have an inspection as well, but the stench is rather annoying.

Tom Kraeutler: If you have stench, you very likely have mold. Get it dry ASAP.

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Washington, D.C.: I bought an 80-year-old rowhouse in 2003 with a finished basement. I've never had water problems -- that I've been able to see -- until this flood. However, during the rain on Sunday and Monday, water came in through cracks in the cement basement floor and the base of the party wall. How should I determine whether this problem is one that is significant enough to require basement waterproofing -- for example, installation of a sump pump and trench system, which waterproofing companies are assessing as a $9,000-$10,000?

Tom Kraeutler: Don't hire a water-proofer. Hire a home inspector first to check the grading and drainage at your home's perimeter.

When a home floods consistent with rainfall, it is because water is accumulating at the foundation perimeter, NOT because the water table is rising which is the ONLY reason you'd need a pump system. See my column "Don't Get Soaked by Wet Basements" for more info here:

Don't Get Soaked by Wet Basements

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Arlington, Va.: Hi Tom,

Our basement flooded last weekend and destroyed the carpeting that was installed in two finished rooms. One was a playroom for kids, the other was a guest room. We don't want to re-carpet. What kind of flooring would you recommend once the clean-up is done? Thanks!

Tom Kraeutler: How about "engineered" hardwood? While you can not put solid hardwood in a basement, you can put engineered hardwood. The difference is that engineered hardwood is made up of many layers, kind of like plywood. This makes it dimensionally stable and suitable for use in a basement. The top layer is solid hardwood and the factory finishes are super-strong. Armstrong has a line available at The Home Depot that I really like. The product has an aluminum oxide finish that makes it really, really tough. Aluminum Oxide is the same mineral that sandpaper is made of so that is why is is so good at resisting abrasion.

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Washington, D.C.: Thank you for this chat. My question is about an interior bathroom, and a large dark patch that can be seen underneath the white linoleum floor around the toilet and edge of shower. The dark patch is getting larger. The cement slab foundation is below. Could this be mold? or mildew? We've wanted to get this bathroom redone. Would a bathroom contractor be able to handle this if it is indeed mold/mildew, or would we need more expert handling? Any things we should insist on or watch out for? Should we run, not walk, to get this done? Thank you so much!!

Tom Kraeutler: Maybe. The stains are in an area where leaks are common. The stains under the toilet are probably from a leaking wax seal. To fix this, the toilet would need to be removed and the seal replaced -- an easy plumbing job. The other stains are probably from spillage from the showers. I would remove the vinyl, clean it with a mildicide and then replace the floor. No need to panic -- this sounds pretty basic.

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Chevy Chase, D.C.: I am intrigued by your comment that carpet in a basement is pretty much a bad idea. Although ours stayed dry it does not seem to be the ideal floor covering for our 80-year-old concrete-floored basement. The key reason we installed it, however, was the very uneven and broken and disintegrating concrete underneath. What kind of floor covering is the best to put on top of this kind of surface?

Tom Kraeutler: Take a look at laminate floors. It is easier than ever to put down and "floats" over the floor below it. So, as long as the old floor is relatively flat, the deteriorating surface won't matter. Laminate floors can look like ceramic tile, stone, vinyl or even hardwood. And they are 20 times more durable than a laminate countertop. Most laminate floor products simply lock together like a puzzle piece. They don't attach to the subfloor or walls and are held in place by there own weight. Also, most include a soft foam underlayment which takes out any minor deflections in the old floor's surface.

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Washington, D.C.: While our house seems to have avoided flooding, we are experiencing another problem related to the torrential rains, ANTS. We were having the problem well before the rains came, and applied a lawn treatment and spray "barrier" around the house. However, since we started drying out yesterday, I noticed the ants streaming back into the house.

There was nothing on the packaging to suggest that the treatments would wash away, but I'm curious if I should try another application or hire an exterminator.

Tom Kraeutler: The ants go marching on and on because they LOVE water! My recommendation is to hire a pro and ask about a product called Termidor. It is a non-detectable insecticide that works for ants and termites. Because the ants can't detect it, they go through it, get it on their bodies and then take it back to the nest where it is passed to the rest of the colony. To find a pro in your area familiar with this product, go to the Termidor site and use the locator.

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Arlington, Va.: This week I discovered that our gutter was sagging and sending water into the window below. I don't know how much water got in, but there are some stains and paint bubbles underneath the window inside. There's no visible damage in the basement below. Should we tear into the drywall to inspect for damage/mold? Or can we let it be if we fix the gutter? If necessary, what kind of specialist should we call to inspect/repair the wall? Thanks!

Tom Kraeutler: No -- a single leak like that which is dried quickly is not likely to cause a mold problem. Just repair the wall and the gutter so it does not happen again.

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Bethesda, Md.: Thanks for the good advice on basement waterproofing. What's your take on commercial products like waterproofing paints? Also, is there anything special to consider with copper gutters as far as guards go?

Tom Kraeutler: Damp-proofing paints are a good idea as the LAST step to fixing a wet basement. Do everything else I talked about first, then paint the walls to reduce any remaining soil moisture from evaporating through.

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Springfield, Va: How long does it take for mold to appear after water saturation? We had about a half inch of water leak into a carpeted basement room, but were lucky to catch it quickly. We immediately cleaned up the water and set up a dehumidifier with the door shut. Now, two days later, everything is dry and there is no smell, but I'm concerned that the mold could pop up later. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? (I rent the house, so major remodeling is out of the question.)

Tom Kraeutler: It can happen quickly, in just a few days if the area remains wet. For more info, see the Mold Resource Guide on our web site.

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Silver Spring, Md.: We have an older brick home and we had some problems with water leakage during the worst of the rain last Sunday. Water found its way into the wall above our front door and actually began leaking into and through the jamb. We think we found the source, but we are wondering about the repair to the swollen timbers of the jamb and the door itself. Any chance they will shrink back to normal as they dry or will sanding and planing be required? Right now our main door sticks and the wood storm door will not close (1/16" difference). Should we consider more drastic steps?

Tom Kraeutler: Probably not -- wood swelling is usually a one-way street! In the winter, it is usually not as bad as in the summer but if this area is now dry, I'd say it has shrunk all that it ever will and I'd recommend getting out a block plane or sander and go to it. One tip: it might be easier to take the door off (assuming it is wood) and sand that to fit the jambs rather than the other way around.

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College Park, Md.: During the last rains I realized that my gutters were not functioning well even though they had been cleaned the week before. The water overflowed from the sides. The gutters are very old. I think I need to replace them but there are so many choices! So many claims of how this or that type is the best!

What kind of gutters are best? (I have trees overhanging the roof constantly dropping leaves.) Thanks!

Tom Kraeutler: Great question. Here is the 101 on good gutter design.

For the most part, the average 4" gutter is fine (known as K-style). What you need to watch out for is the number of spouts. You should have one spout for every 600-800 square feet of roof surface. Also, make sure to extend the downspouts 4-6 feet from the foundation perimeter, or run them into a SOLID (not perforated) underground drain pipe which empties out to the street or other area where it won't do any damage.

As for gutter covers, I would avoid screens as debris tends to get through. I have solid gutter covers on my house.

They allow leaves to wash off but the water hugs the cover due to surface tension and runs around the front lip and into the gutter below.

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Arlington, Va.: I had rain enter through my casement windows in the kitchen. It does not appear to have caused any floor damage (kitchen), but the ceiling in the room immediately below has some brown water stains. It is not damp to the touch, and no sagging or dripping water. I am not sure if I will need to have the ceiling replaced (drywall work) or wait a few days and paint over it. Any ideas? Should I worry about mold?

Tom Kraeutler: Paint it with KILZ first, then repaint it with flat paint. If the stains are really bad, paint the entire ceiling surface and use the oil-based version of KILZ. rather than the water-based. If it was a one-time leak that is dry now, I would not worry about mold.

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Burke, Va.: I had a minor flood in my basement through the window well. In the backyard, I have a deck that is about two feet off the ground with lattice work on the sides. When we ripped off the lattice, the ground was sloping dramatically towards the window well. We have regraded the heavy clay away from the house, but some people have suggested that we should lay concrete bricks or stones or something on top of the clay for at least the two feet closest to the house to prevent repeat erosion. Is this necessary? Because the deck is so low, it is very difficult to get up under there.

Tom Kraeutler: Do the best you can. Bricks are nice but not necessary. You might just want to push some gravel up in there over the soil to reduce erosion. It is most important that you regrade to slope away. Also, be sure to check gutters in this area, the more water that is carted away by extended spouts, the less that can end up in your window well.

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Silver Spring, Md.: We had a pretty small roof leak during the storms, which left a brown stain on our upstairs ceiling around a lighting fixture. Do you have recommendations on how to fix this up? Is a stain treatment enough, or do I need to treat this as water damage and get an expert in? Also, how do I know when it is safe to use the light?

We are in a townhouse and the management company controls the roof -- does that mean they should pay to repair the damage to the ceiling?

Thanks!

Tom Kraeutler: This isn't a big deal. Pick up a quart can of KILZ primer, and paint the stained area. Then after it dries, touch it up with a flat paint.

As for who is responsible, with a condo/townhouse situation it depends on how the Public Offering Statement defines what is "common" property. In many cases the association is responsible to fix the roof but the owner is responsible to fix interior damage. Check with your association to be sure. However, if it is just paint we are talking about, it's really not worth the effort to get them involved if you can just do it yourself.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: Mr. Kraeutler, is the regrading you talked about something a homeowner could -- or should -- try? Is there a minimum amount of grade that you need for the work to be effective?

Tom Kraeutler: Good grading should slope down six inches for the first four feet off the foundation. Then it can slope more gradually after that. Use clean fill dirt to establish the slope. Do not use top soil which is too organic for this purpose and a kin to laying sponges around the foundation.

Also, look for anything that might be preventing water from draining away from the foundation. My favorite is those wood landscape ties or the brick edging. Using those is like building a pool to hold water against your house!

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Georgetown: Our Georgetown offices suffered some water damage (leaking from the ceiling left us with wet carpet in many of the office areas). The building facilities people gave us a small humidifier and some fans, but its now Friday and there is still wet carpet. Are we in danger of a health hazard here? Do we need to be more forceful in demanding action?

Tom Kraeutler: Interesting question. That carpet needs to be dried and pronto. Small dehumidfiers and fans won't do it. The owners should call a flood remediation company to get it properly dried before mold gets a hold. If they don't it will be far more expensive to fix down the line for sure.

The mold doesn't know, or care, if it is growing in a home or office. My friend and mold expert Jeff May just wrote a book about this called "My Office is Killing Me." It is available on Amazon.com.

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Washington, D.C.: We have a concrete cellar that holds garden equipment and some storage in cardboard boxes that had a sewage back up. What would the best way to clean and disinfect it be, and how do we know what to throw out?

Tom Kraeutler: If in doubt, throw it out! Mold need three things to grow: water, air and an organic food source, like those cardboard boxes. The rest can be cleaned with a mildicide like Jomax, for example, which is available in the paint department at Home Depot.

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Silver Spring, Md.: I've had significant leakage into my living room during this and other powerful rainstorms. The rainwater is working its way through mortar cracks in interior cinderblocks and dripping into an indented brick area beside my fireplace. I have been unable to pinpoint the outside source of the leak. A chimney company has recommended a series of pricey remedies, but I'd hate to spend thousands and still have a problem. How do I tell if I need chimney repair vs. flashing replacement?

Tom Kraeutler: Ohhh... recommendations from chimney contractors who want to sell you expensive repairs are sometimes just as bad as those recommendations from water-proofing contractors! My advice, have an independent professional home inspector look at it first. The company I trained with in Washington, D.C. many years again is a leader in the home inspection industry.

Look up the number for HomeChek of America and ask if they can send an inspector over to do a "partial" inspection of the leak issue. It will cost a few bucks but you'll get advice from a seasoned pro who will know just what it takes to fix the leak. Then you can hire the right contractor to get it fixed. Since home inspectors don't do repairs, they can provide this advice without any conflict of interest. Their only goal is to help you solve this problem.

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Washington, D.C.: If mold needs an organic food source to grow, does that mean my cheap acrylic carpet is safe?

Tom Kraeutler: Nice try, but even your cheap acrylic carpet can have an organic pad under it. Plus, no matter how good of a housekeeper you are, carpet holds LOTS of organic matter that feeds mold!

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom! My boyfriend and I recently made an offer on a condo in the District. We are scheduled to close next Thursday, however, the condo is now substantially damaged due to this past week's storms. We are quite certain that the unit cannot be delivered to us at closing in the same condition it was in when we made the offer.

Additionally, the damage significantly decreases the resale and overall value of the property. We would ideally like to rescind the contract but do not want to lose our earnest money or fight a legal battle. We also don't want to close on a property that is likely now worth $100,000 less than it was when we made the offer. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Tom Kraeutler: Call a lawyer -- NOW! Most real estate contracts provide that the home must be maintained and in "working order condition" at the time of closing. The condition of the property has changed substantially and you can not be reasonably expected to close on a property that was not what you bargained for in good faith.

Even if you can move in at some time, you should not be paying a mortgage on a property that has to undergo major repairs. Lastly, there could be additional financial obligations if the condo/townhouse association has not properly budgeted or insured against the damage. If they need money, a special assessment might be in your immediate future.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: How do you feel about installing French Drains (or sometimes I've seen them called Trench Drains)? They are pipes installed around the exterior of the home to divert water away from the foundation.

Tom Kraeutler: I don't recommend them around the immediate foundation perimeter, but they can be effective when you have standing water in your yard, such as when a hill slopes down toward the house.

By installing a French drain at the base of the hill (maybe 12-18 inches deep, filled with 4-6 inches of stone, then a 4" perforated PVC pipe sloped to drain to a lower part of your property, covered by more stone, then filter cloth then top soil and grass) you can catch the major run off before it gets near the foundation and keep it away from the house.

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Laytonsville, Md.: We had the flower beds around our house mulched around the time of the storm. We had significant flooding in our basement. Could the mulch have caused this?

Tom Kraeutler: It didn't help. The grade under the mulch needs to slope away. You can not create slope with a porous material like mulch. More importantly, check those downspouts and gutters. In my experience, gutter problems are usually about 75 percent of the cause. Grading is about 25 percent.

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Ann Arbor, Mich.: Hi Tom. Here's a story for you.

Here in Ann Arbor we are being forced by the City to install sumps in our basements to re-route footing drain flow into storm sewers. This is a City-funded project at $3,700 per site! I'm laughing because absolutely NO ONE is also advising homeowners to perform basic gutter maintenance and monitor their grading.

So the project is essentially saying, "Go ahead and allow water to find its way along your basements."

Thought you'd get a chuckle out of that.

Tom Kraeutler: Your tax dollars at work! I'd take the $3,700, spend $500 on gutters and grading and then take a vacation with the rest!

The reason we advise grading first is that by the time the water gets to those over-priced drains, it has already done it's damage. Here is why:

1. Wet soil is unstable soil. Ever sink in mud? This is why. Guess what your foundation is doing when the water gets under it.

2. Wet soil is heavy soil -- water weighs eight pounds per gallon. That is a lot of unnecessary weight being loaded against the foundation wall.

3. Wet soil freezes. As it does, it expands, puts horizontal pressure on the foundation wall and causes it to crack. As this freeze-thaw cycle continues over years, it can get so bad the wall may need a major repair or it could even collapse.

On the other hand, if you MANAGE the water through improved grading and gutter control so it stays away from your foundation, then it can't do any damage to the foundation wall -- period.

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Tar in my dryer: I have a gas dryer and made the mistake of throwing a towel with some gloppy tar on it into the dryer. Now I have black tarry spots covering the inside of the dryer. Any idea about the best/safest way to remove the tar so I can use it?

Tom Kraeutler: I'd say use a tar remover but you'd have to be ABSOLUTELY SURE it was not flammable. Otherwise you could have a disaster the first time you fire up the dryer again. To be safe, have an appliance repair person remove the drum and then clean and rinse it before reassembly.

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Baltimore, Md.: What is going on when the lights in a room dim by themselves or when you turn on another item? (This isn't directly water-related, but we noticed it after we turned on out new dehumidifier this week!)

Tom Kraeutler: Portable dehumidifiers use a TON of power when they turn on. Apparently, you plugged this into a circuit in your home that also controls the lighting. When the dehumidifier kicks on, there is a large voltage draw that temporarily "browns out" the lights, hence the dimming you see. Generally speaking, more annoying than dangerous but I would make sure the circuit you are plugging into has a properly sized fuse or circuit breaker. An electrician can do this.

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Tom Kraeutler: One more point about dehumidifiers. Portable are good for very small rooms but there is a fairly new type called a "Whole Home Humidifier" made by Aprilaire that can be centrally installed and will control humidity in the entire house. See this link.

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washingtonpost.com: Here's some more information about dehumidifiers.

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Tom Kraeutler: Well that will have to do it for today. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions and I hope I have helped dry up your homes a bit!

If anyone has more questions, you can call our radio show The Money Pit 24/7/365 at 1-888-MONEY PIT (1-888-666-3974). Your call will be answered by a live person and if we are not in the studio, my co-host Leslie Segrete and I will call you back the next time we are. You can also search our web site for answers to questions or send us an e-mail question.

Thank you again for the opportunity to help answer your questions and Happy 4th to everyone!

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