ORIGINAL REDDIT POST
First time homeowner Kid overflowed the bathtub. This is what I see in the basement. Call insurance or hit it with fans?
About an inch of water in the bathroom. Wood floors next to bathroom, it leaked out of the bathroom and into the Crack between the wall and floors and ran down the seam? Pretty wet on the basement floor but not pooling - looks like the drain down here did its…
About an inch of water in the bathroom. Wood floors next to bathroom, it leaked out of the bathroom and into the Crack between the wall and floors and ran down the seam? Pretty wet on the basement floor but not pooling - looks like the drain down here did its job.
Collected discussion
A water claim is the WORST claim to have on your insurance. Don’t even call them asking for opinion or advice. Many people get their policy non renewed after a water claim and have to goto the reinsurance market for home insurance which costs a LOT more. Let me just say this once, and please remember it…. Home insurance is for CATASTROPHIC LOSS only.
I think the stove pipe you see is actually the main drain. Got lots of fans going. The basement is pretty cool, its my husband's little cave. Lights are from a saltwater Fishtank. Looks like the flood missed all the important stuff down there.
Now that is the advice I was looking for. Someone who gets it.
People post on this sub daily looking to use insurance like it’s their own savings account.
I am a first time home owner, first time flood haver looking for advice from some other humans before I decide make the call to insurance. Figured someone here would know far more than me and so far seems like yall do!
This is the way. Proper industrial dehumidifier for remediation purposes.
Lawsuit. Sue the little bastard into the next century.
it's always the bath, never just a small spill. you're probably okay skipping insurance for now, just get some good airflow going and keep an eye on the ceiling below. if the wood starts cupping or staining after a few days, then maybe call someone and that basement looks like a cool little hideout, not gonna lie. just make sure that stove pipe isn't touching anything too close when you're drying things out
This is surprisingly minor believe it or not. Fans will do the job drying that out below. The water had a place to go which limits the damage it can cause. The only real thing at risk is the finished floor above. If the wood (hardwood?) floors next to the bathroom are separated by the wall in question then it should be fine. If the wood (hardwood?) is under that inch of water then it's probably going to buckle and need to be replaced.
End of day update - got a dehumidifier and some fans going, it's already much dryer. I did NOT call the insurance. Honestly, sounds like unless my house is made of straw and gets huffed and puffed by a big bad wolf, i should never call the insurance. Thank you all for taking the time to help me learn! I had a few chuckles at the better than thou knuckle heads and the childhood stories. Yall really helped calm me down and I hope this post can help some future neglectful parents when their kids flood the bathroom. /s
Oh and a dehumidifier running 24x7 for a week. You'll be fine.
Fans. Been there done that. Don't involve insurance.... they all suck
I’m pretty sure you can rent a dehumidifier from Home Depot. That’ll probably be easiest.
you can buy two good dehumidifiers and a fan for less than your insurance deductible. Run them 24/7 for a week or so, until the basement is bone dry. You will need dehumidifiers anyway, eventually.
Former insurance adjuster here....never ever ever get insurance involved for anything less than catastrophic damage. Guaranteed this would come in as below deductible, and then you get a claim on your record anyway with no payout. Fans, dehu, and time will get you fixed up in no time.
Fans and a dehumidifier, towel dry as much as you can and reassess after.
Fans and a dehumidifier. Never involve insurance unless you absolutely have to.
Rememeber this: When houses are built, all that wood is literally getting rained on the whole time. Wood can handle a little bit of water now and again. No big deal. Wood does not like getting wet over and over again, where it never dries out.
Had a water claim due to a broken pipe that poured down 3 floors. Contractors fault. This was before I knew a thing about insurance. Anyways, they covered some but not all of the damage. Fast forward 2 years and we had golf ball sized hail. Broken lights, windows, fences, tons of cracked siding on shed/house, dented cars, messed up garage door. That list goes on. Again covered. And then…I was dropped from insurance. I had to shop around and my homeowners insurance is now triple. It’ll be that way until that first claim drops off (I think it’s 5 years total). Like another poster said DO NOT even call. That starts a claim AND goes against you even if you don’t follow through. Dehumidifier for each floor/fans. Watch for mold if it hit drywall or a ceiling. I had mold everywhere even with that dehumidifier. (Insurance refused to cover the mold which was all over the drywall and all over the main support beam).
Don’t ever call the insurance. Not even to ask questions. You’ll know when to call them. There will be signs. Fire. Missing pieces to your house. Tree on your house. Etc.
Just dry it out. Dont call insurance
Fans and dehumidifier as others have said. That’s not really enough to change much. Insurance won’t do shit or pay for shit and they’ll also say it’s not enough damage to warrant paying for anyone to rip anything out. However they WILL log you as having made a claim and higher risk in their system which may increase your premiums. Then you’ll have also started a paper trail of a water damage to the house which would make it required to be list on any seller disclosure form to ever sell the house one day which would either turn some heads or turn some buyers off of the house
I don't see how hitting you kid with fans will help, but I kinda understand the urge. That said, get thee a dehumidifier and an industrial fan, it'll be fine if you can dry it pronto.
Definitely hit that kid with a fan
DON'T call insurance, DON'T call your agent. Water claims can get you cancelled. You can rent fans and dehumidifiers, we had one running for 5 days when all of our pipes were chewed through by rats.