I had to work late and was extremely worried that I wouldn't be able to get out of New York City because of the epic Noah's Ark type rain. No where in my thinking did I worry about the sewing workroom nestled in the basement of my home. I mean I just had the plumber in to talk about adding a battery operated sump pump to the sump pump that's already in place. He looked at the present sump pump and declared that it was fine.
So why did I hear a beep from said workroom after midnight when I was in the kitchen getting one last glass of the nectar of the gods...Mountain Dew. I go to the steps turn on the light, hoping & praying that I wouldn't see water...and I didn't. With a sign of relief, I head downstairs to see what was beeping and then I see it. Yeap, one of the few paper boxes on the floor has a 2" water line.
Dayum, the Noah's Ark epic rain had infiltrated the workroom. So I go into the storage space where my furnace and hot water heater are located and the sump pump is full of water, as well as, water covering the floor. I CAN NOT figure out why it isn't working...lean over to make sure it's plugged in. Dayum, Dayum and double dayum...the plug is out slightly...push it in and the sump pump roars to life.
Luckily I made it downstairs before there was any serious damage done to the fabric collection or even a lot of water in the workroom. Instead it took two hours to get the water mopped up and items removed. Today started off with a trip to Lowes to get a wet/dry vac. Then I spent time lifting everything rubber and wiping the water off the bottom of it.
You know I've called the plumber back and scheduled the installation of the battery operated sump pump...*sigh* Yes, possible catastrophe averted but if I had any urge to sew today, its gone now. I'll be spending the rest of the evening mopping up the last of the water that's hidden under every plastic bin on the floor, washing & drying and rehanging the covers for the fabric collection and washing & drying the couple of pieces of fabric that were in the paper boxes.
...as always more later!
Goodness you caught it and hoping the backup sump pump adverts any future issues.
ReplyDeleteOh! No! I''m sorry to hear that your sewing room was flooded. I'm glad that you caught it before MAJOR damage. Any damage is annoying, but I'll be thinking of you this weekend.
ReplyDeleteRose in SV
Thank God you found it in time. Disaster otherwise. All that lovely fabric and trims and patterns... Phew.
ReplyDeleteUGH! I can imagine how your heart sank when you discovered the water. I'm glad it wasn't worse for you.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to avoid a disaster. Should you need a place to store some of your fabric, I'm here for you!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you escaped with little water damage. I had a flood in my sewing room. No fabric, because it's up on shelves, but the presser feet on my machine and serger were under several inches! Even though I heavily landscaped after that experience, I still run down to the basement after every rain, just to check.
ReplyDeleteSorry you had the water and glad it was minimal. I did enjoy reading your post. Well written.
ReplyDeleteArgh, I feel your pain. The basement in our last house flooded - and it was a finished basement. We now have a cast iron sump pump, a back-up, and a sensor connected to the house alarm in case the water level gets too high. I hope you managed to salvage most/all of your goodies!
ReplyDeleteOh no! Glad you caught it before it was to terrible!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn,having had water problems in the past, I feel your pain.So glad it wasn't worse for you.
ReplyDeleteI can so sympathize with this misery. It took a long time to get it all fixed but we got there. I hope your situation is back to normal as quickly as possible. No one needs this aggravation.
ReplyDeleteGrab the fabric! This would be my first priority...
ReplyDeleteDid you put a fan down and running while you were working to help with the drying process?
ReplyDeleteWe had a toady strangler (husband's term!) last Friday and sure enough, parts of our basement got wet. I spent a good part of my day mopping and sweeping towards a sump pump pit. The basement floor does not all angle towards the sump pump pit. Grrrrr. The wet dry vac got a workout too. The settings on the dehumidifier were changed from a winter setting to a humid summer setting AFTER the incident. I had to put a fan out and going to help the corners with little circulation to finish drying instead of getting smelly.
I'm glad you found it before it did major damage.
That will dampen the mojo (sorry). I'm SO glad you caught it before it was worse. That sump pump deserves to have its power cord bolted in. And the battery back up is a great idea if the power goes out. So sorry you have to spend the weekend cleaning.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you caught it before it was worse, but I know it's no fun to have to clean all that up. I hope you get it done and have some chillin' time before Mon.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness that was scary!!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a very close call, so happy you found it before major damage was done.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that happened! Glad it wasn't worse. That house stuff can be really stressful.
ReplyDeleteThe best and the worsts thing about Los Angeles is hardly any homes have basements. Today I guess it's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThankfully you were in the kitchen at the right time!
ReplyDeleteArghhhhh! Hope you pace yourself and get back to high and dry soon.
ReplyDeleteThankful you got the situation under control. I had an issue once with water and anything on floor level is in deep plastic bins just in case. No paper boxes,plastic bags on floor ever-learned the hard way and I keep the least loved stuff in them. We don't normally flood just had some due to storm damage on the roof in an unusually hard rain period. So sorry you had to deal with this. It's really awful to deal with when it happens but can happen anywhere basement or no in the right situation-I can testify to that.
ReplyDeleteNO!! A big mess but it could have been devastating. Glad you found it in time. Shees--what if you'd been out of town?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you got to the sump pump in time and it wasn't worse than what it was. Hope the rains have passed and you will soon be back to normal.
ReplyDeleteREALLY glad it wasn't worse. Not fun but lots to be grateful for.
ReplyDeleteIck. So not what you want to do late at night (or any other time, for that matter). Glad the damage wasn't too awful. Hope sometime this weekend you are able to get some rest.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness thank goodness you heard the beeping noise - hope its not too bad
ReplyDeleteSo sorry this had to happen. Glad you caught it in time.
ReplyDeleteI can feel your pain. Our sump pump sometimes just can not keep up with heavy duty rains, we need a backup too! Thankfully I don't have my sewing room in the basement, I have lost some other household items though due to basement flooding. I like your dry/wet vacuum. Sorry this ruined your sewing weekend. Hopefully things will be drying out soon.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad you caught it when you did, but ARGH!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank God it wasn't any worse, glad that you didn't lose any of your supplies.
ReplyDeleteohno! I can commiserate having had water come into my back craft room after a hurricane ... you will need a well-deserved break after all your cleanup efforts - I'm so glad it wasn't any worse!
ReplyDeleteLucky for your Mountain Dew jones.
ReplyDelete~Sewjourner
What a pain! And especially after having to work, blech.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to relax and chill out now for a little while.
Sorry to read about your storm experience and am glad that it wasn't any worse. Now, I don't feel so bad about all the branches I had to pick up after the storm. At least, we didn't have any flooding.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad nothing happened to that fine stash you've built. Or that lovely new sewing machine. But it's still icky. Borrow lots of fans and get them running on high!
ReplyDeleteI know I don't need to tell you this, but if at all possible, move all of your machines to an upper level until you get this problem fixed. Moisture in the air can destroy them.
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I'd move my fabric as well until I could be absolutely certain that the environment is completely dry. It doesn't take a flood to create damaging moisture in the air.
Glad, you didn´t get gloated to rugh.
ReplyDeleteHere in Germany we have right now massive damages through the float of Elbe, Saale, etc. Parts of my country are unreachable even by boat because of the large amount of water.
People stick in their houses and are unable to get out or anywhere else because of the float.
Hi,I'm a beginner and I decided to try a butterick pattern (5566) because I was having some difficulty drafting mine. I noticed that you made your skirt really nice. I attempted view D size 12. I traced out the pattern and cut it out, but I can't seem to figure out how to line up the notches for the front pattern. Can you help me?
ReplyDeleteWe have been lucky no flooding at all ever, although other people in the village have had water in the house. It must be really heartbreaking when your possessions are deep in water.
ReplyDeleteGood job you have an alarm installed and managed to avoid your sewing cave being really damaged.
I'm glad the damage wasn't worse!
ReplyDeleteI've been cleaning up from basement flooding, too - no time to be creative. I'll tell ya - rubbermade tubs are a great investment. I've been getting the see-through ones so I don't forget what I have...and I'm waiting impatiently for one of my kids to let me have their room for my craft/sewing space. Some day!
ReplyDeleteOh geez...bummer. I know you could have thought of better things to do with your time. Hope all is well now.
ReplyDeleteOh, NO! I'm glad the damage wasn't worse, but that still stinks. :(
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear or the trials or water encroachment! At least fabric (at least most of it) is washable! We too had our basement flooded this year. Sure takes a lot of time to dry things out! Good that your electrical's/machines were not damaged! Hang in there; you will be fabric playing again soon.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a blessing that you heard the beep and went to check. Your best spent money for 2013 will be your battery operated back. I am so glad you that did not have major damage.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad you caught it before it got completely out of hand and that you saved the stash! That is one of my most dreaded nightmares: water rising in my basement, where, of course, my fabric stash is located! I've had enough washing machine floods in the past to put everything into large plastic totes, though, so unless we get 3 feet of water, the fabric will be OK! Other things won't be, but the fabric stash will be safe!
ReplyDelete