awakened soul

[Tussiemussies]

Hi there, just wondering if you are okay, my husband told me just now how horrible So. CA is being hit with hard storms. Please let us know how you are....Chris

[CathyA]

Hope all is okay too!

[Aqua Blue]

Bump, another person who is concerned about you...

[awakenedsoul]

Hi Guys,

Thanks Tussiemussies, CathyA, and Aqua Blue. Yeah, my cottage was flooded. It's not as bad as I thought. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. the morning of the storm and the carpet in my living room was soaked. At first I thought the roof was leaking. It turns out the rain was so fast and furious that instead of the water flowing down the street, it dumped into my yard and my next door neighbor's yard. (We're at the bottom of the hill in a flood zone.) I bailed out about a bucket of water inside of my front door.

At 8:00 a.m. I called the feed store around the corner. They came right over and delivered 6 bales of straw to me. I spread that out in front, and things seem to be okay now. I didn't have Internet until yesterday.

The carpet is slowly drying out. I think it may be salvageable. I talked with the owner of the carpet store where I bought it. She said to just keep putting towels on it, and walking on them. I've got a fan on it, and the heater is on, too.

We had a little rain last night, but it was lighter. My neighbor's house has mud everywhere. I think because I landscaped my yard and left down mulch, I fared much better. The soil is so dry that it's not absorbing the water like it normally would.

How's everyone else doing?

[rodeosweetheart]

Glad to hear you are okay and the house okay too! If you can get some stuff to put down on the carpet as it dries, it may help it from developing any mold or mildew- I know Servicemaster did this once for our house; maybe something like borax?

[Float On]

A little wet carpet is not too bad but keep checking your baseboards and drywall if you have it. Sorry you got wet but glad it wasn't worse.

[Packy]

Sorry to hear that. Flooding is far worse in it's effects that people might think. Hope you recover, soon.

[Gardenarian]

Sorry to hear about your flooding! I hope there's no permanent damage. Have you talked to your insurance company? You sure don't want to get any mold.

We had a bit of flooding in our walk-out basement, but we'd already removed the carpet from the last time this happened.
Last night there was a black-out. I was on my way home from work when there was a blinding explosion of light down the street, and when I looked around, all the power was out. It lasted a few hours.
The sky was so clear and bright without electricity.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi awakened, so very glad you are alright. I thought of you as soon as I heard the news.

So very sorry that your,rug got wet. Just wondering how the padding and flooring underneath will fair out.

Glad you have the internet back. Hope your neighbors are also alright.

Chris

[rosarugosa]

So sorry Awakened. I've had a few basement floods, but it must be so much worse when it's your living space. I hope everything dries out OK for you.

[awakenedsoul]

Thanks so much everybody. I really appreciate your kindness and caring. It wasn't that much water on the carpet. I'd say the puddle was about 7 feet by 3 feet. The owner of the carpet store told me that she grew up in this area, and that their house used to flood, too. Instead of replacing the carpet, they used towels, fans, and it dried out. She could have tried to sell me more carpet, but she said that she hopes this will last me another five years. The wet area is more like a really large dog accident. My German Shepherd had one of those years ago, and the carpet dried out just fine. I live in the desert, so once the sun returns, the fresh air will help.

If it's still smelly or yucky, I'll replace it. I see a big improvement already, though. Tomorrow the plumber is coming to do some much needed "old house" repairs. He's going to snake the washer, put in a new gas line outside for the dryer, and replace my kitchen faucet. (It started spraying water towards the ceiling on the morning after the flood.) It's weird how old houses are like that. One thing breaks, and if you don't fix it right away, other things start to go, too. I just replaced the water heater last month. I'd been putting off some of these repairs until January to stay in budget for 2014. I'm just going to do it and not worry about what it costs. I'm so glad I have an eight month emergency fund! When I was younger, this kind of thing would have totally derailed me, financially.

[awakenedsoul]

So glad you're OK, AS! Wow, what an adventure. Water is the most amazing of the elements. So many forms and so many moods. It can be placid or ferocious. "Water will have its way," as someone once said. Best wishes as you dry out.

Thanks Oddball.That's for sure. There's a wash that runs behind my property, parallel to our street. The water was finding the fastest route there, which was through my house!

[awakenedsoul]

Sorry to hear about your flooding! I hope there's no permanent damage. Have you talked to your insurance company? You sure don't want to get any mold.

We had a bit of flooding in our walk-out basement, but we'd already removed the carpet from the last time this happened.
Last night there was a black-out. I was on my way home from work when there was a blinding explosion of light down the street, and when I looked around, all the power was out. It lasted a few hours.
The sky was so clear and bright without electricity.

I have home insurance, but it doesn't cover flooding, since I live in a flood zone. I've lived here since 1997, and this is the first time the water has come into the house. I always mulched with straw before the storms, though. It soaks up the water like a sponge.

Glad you were okay with the power outage. I bet the sky was beautiful.

[awakenedsoul]

So sorry Awakened. I've had a few basement floods, but it must be so much worse when it's your living space. I hope everything dries out OK for you.

I'm so into homemaking that I normally sit in my vintage living room and enjoy my coffee, classical music, knitting, and writing. The first couple days were kind of depressing, because it was so wet and smelly. It reminded me of a foreclosure. The dogs were fighting over the dry spot of carpet by the heater. It's much better now, though. It feels like a home again...

[Teacher Terry]

Some friends of ours got flooded & their insurance company sent out guys that dried the carpet as fast as they could be using huge fans, etc & it was fine. I sure hope that is the case in your situation.

[awakenedsoul]

Some friends of ours got flooded & their insurance company sent out guys that dried the carpet as fast as they could be using huge fans, etc & it was fine. I sure hope that is the case in your situation.

Thanks, Teacher Terry. That's good to know. The woman who owned the carpet store told me that if I keep putting down towels and walking on them, it will soak up a lot of the water. She told me just to keep doing laundry and to keep a fan on it. Her family did that instead of replacing carpet after a flood, and they owned a carpet store!!!

I dug up my leech line yesterday, so the washer is now draining properly. I also had new gas line put in, so I can use the dryer, as well. (It had been so hot and dry here, I had just switched over to a clothesline.) We are in the desert, which helps. The sun is out today.

[kib]

Sorry to hear about your flooding and glad you're doing ok, it's been crazy! If the carpet is still pretty soggy, rent a carpet cleaner. They are designed to suck carpets nearly dry after washing, I've found that even if I accidentally soak a carpet while washing it I can eventually get it to barely damp with a commercial machine. At the same time you could spritz some product like febreze on to help absorb any odors before they take hold.

[awakenedsoul]

kib,
Thanks for the advice. It looks like a puddle now. It's receding. I called professional carpet cleaners to come in, but they are booked through the holidays. I don't have a car, so renting a carpet machine would be difficult. I also have to watch it because I am getting acupuncture for an injury. I'm not supposed to be lugging around heavy things right now.

The towels are working. Places where that were sopping wet are now dry when I walk over them. I've got the windows open and the fans running. I'm lucky that the sun is shining and that the air is so dry here.