Is it safe to go down into a flooded basement?
Only if the water is well away from outlets, cords, the furnace and the electrical panel, and you hear no buzzing or crackling. If water touches any of those, stay out and have power cut from a dry location or by an electrician.
The CDC says never to turn power on or off, or use any electric tool, while standing in water. The Red Cross says to stay out of any room where water covers outlets or plugged-in cords. If you smell gas, leave the house and call from outside. Once you are sure it is safe, wear rubber boots and gloves, because basement floodwater is rarely clean.
Is this groundwater or sewage?
If the water is coming up through a floor drain or the lowest toilet and it is dark or smells like sewage, treat it as a sewer backup. If it is seeping in along the base of walls, through cracks or window wells, or overflowing the sump pit, it is groundwater or surface water.
The difference matters for three reasons. First, who you call: in Naperville, sewage from a floor drain means a call to the city's Water Utility before a plumber (see sewer backup cleanup). Second, how the cleanup is done: sewage is IICRC Category 3 water, and porous materials it touched usually come out. Third, insurance: sewer and sump backups are usually covered only by a backup endorsement, while water from outside the house is flood, which a standard homeowners policy does not cover.
Groundwater is not automatically clean. Water that came through the soil or ran across a yard carries dirt and whatever was on the ground. Restoration companies generally treat it as Category 2 or 3, depending on what it touched and how long it sat.
What should I do before the restoration company arrives?
Stop more water from coming in if you can, photograph everything, move belongings off the wet floor, and keep air moving. Do not start tearing out drywall or carpet until you have photos and have talked to your insurer.
- Check the sump pump. If it is not running and it is safe to reach, see whether it is unplugged, the breaker tripped or the float is stuck. If the power is out, a battery backup or generator is the only way it runs. More on the sump pump page.
- Redirect downspouts away from the house if they are dumping water at the foundation.
- Photograph and video the water level, the source and damaged belongings before moving anything.
- Get things off the floor: boxes, rugs, electronics, furniture you can lift. Cardboard boxes soak up water and give way.
- Call your insurer if you plan to file, and write down the claim number.
- Call a water damage restoration company. Press 1 on our line and we connect you with a local one.
How do restoration companies dry out a basement?
They pump or extract standing water, remove wet materials that cannot be saved, then run air movers and dehumidifiers for several days while checking moisture readings until the structure is dry.
In an unfinished basement with a concrete floor, the work is mostly extraction, cleaning and drying. In a finished basement it gets bigger. Carpet pad holds water like a sponge and is usually replaced. Drywall that wicked water is often cut out above the waterline so the wall cavity and insulation can dry, a step restorers often call a "flood cut". Concrete and wood framing hold moisture deep inside and take longer, which is why the IICRC puts dense materials like concrete in Class 4, specialty drying.
Ask the company to record moisture readings at each visit and share them. That gives you proof the job is done and gives your insurer the documentation it will want.
How long do I have before mold starts?
The EPA says wet areas and items should be dried within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth. Basements are cool, dim and humid, so do not count on them drying on their own.
A shop vac and box fans help, but they mostly move surface water and air. Water inside drywall, under carpet pad and in the bottom plate of a wall needs dehumidification. If you already see mold, the mold page explains when it is a DIY job and when it is not.
Why do Naperville basements flood?
Big rain events, saturated clay soil and overwhelmed sump pumps and sewers. Naperville sits on glacial deposits that include dense clay, and the West Branch DuPage River runs through town.
The July 1996 storm brought about 14 inches of rain to Naperville and set the Illinois one-day rainfall record near Aurora. In April 2013 record flooding hit the DuPage River system and Centennial Beach flooded. Rain like that soaks the clay around foundations, which drains slowly and pushes water toward cracks, joints and window wells. At the same time it can overload sump pumps and surcharge the sanitary sewer, so some homes get groundwater and sewage on the same night. The Naperville guide has the full background.
Will insurance pay for a flooded basement?
It depends on the source. Water from outside (flood) is not covered by a standard homeowners policy. Sewer and sump backups are usually covered only with a backup endorsement. A burst pipe inside the house is generally covered.
Read your declarations page or call your agent. Our Illinois insurance guide walks through each case and the documents that help a claim.
What will it cost?
HomeAdvisor's national figures put most water damage restoration jobs between about $1,383 and $6,369. A finished basement with Category 3 water and drywall removal will usually land higher than an unfinished one with clean water.
Those are national ranges, not quotes. Our cost guide explains what drives the number.
What should I do after the basement is dry?
Fix the cause so it does not happen again: test or replace the sump pump, add a battery backup, extend downspouts, and if sewage came up a drain, ask the city about its backflow device reimbursement program before any work starts.
If the rebuild includes framing, drywall, electrical or plumbing, Naperville's permit guide treats basement remodeling as permitted work. Ask the contractor who pulls the permit.
Not sure where to start? Read the Naperville water damage guide, or call and press 1.