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peegee_gw

Forced basement declutter

peegee
10 years ago

My nearly 12year old water heater's pressure valve went, flooding part of the basement. Talk about having to make fast decisions for sopping wet stuff mostly all "Yes, trash it".
Thankfully I had done a lot of purging previously removing one-thing-each-time on most trips back upstairs but had stopped that awhile back due to some mobility issues. I mention this as I had been recently thinking about the age of my hw heater and nasty consequences if it goes....but didn't act on it. Oops. It could have been worse, but was still a major inconvenience and PITA for me and my DD who came over to help and frankly did most of the grunt work including tediously cutting up a large carpet that was just fine all these years. Lost a few special things, too. Luckily a lot was up on rolling storage carts. But too much stuff made it harder than necessary. Hope some people will assess their basement storage choices....and take action if needed!

Comments (8)

  • talley_sue_nyc
    10 years ago

    Thanks for letting us learn from your mistakes!
    Best of luck with the clean-out.

  • peegee
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, Talley! It's funny that I had been thinking about this possibility recently, but still did nothing about moving anything, or even replacing the tank....but it's cleaner down there now, for sure!

  • Plow_In
    10 years ago

    I had been getting the same nagging thought about getting a new water heater - probably for about a month. Finally acted on it, got the new heater - and am now wondering if that is why I always had water on the floor (luckily mine is just used for basement storage and not family use). Glad I finally got moving!

  • emma
    10 years ago

    Been there a couple of times at my last home, but it was a broken washer hose and another time a running stool. I have not been one to store things, if I don't use them in a year or two I get rid of it. In this home I have a concrete floor in the utility room with a drain. I have everything up off the floors, tables, shelving etc.. Even in the garage I have the long heavy tables along the walls and keep stuff off the floor. It saves a lot of bending.

  • neesie
    10 years ago

    Sorry to hear about your incident peegee. I recall hearing something about the insurance institute saying they pay out a lot of home claims over broken washer hoses (which should be checked once a year) and broken water heaters. It's a good reminder for all of us to check on those things, they don't last forever, that's for sure.

  • peegee
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Nessie! I have been religious about using the shut offs each and every time I use my washer so I have never been too concerned, but if I'm able to move, I want my laundry on the main floor, not in the basement....I suspect I'll be a little more worried about it then, but the tradeoff to not having to go down into the basement will be worth it I hope. I will also look into tankless - hoping that that option may eliminate the risk altogether? The fact is, I still have too much stuff everywhere, including the basement, and if I ever hope to move, I need to be working harder at eliminating s*t*u*f*f !!

  • bestrateremovals
    10 years ago

    It is essential that one can get the house with basement because it is the area where one can make this kind of things happy and warm.

  • cupofkindness
    9 years ago

    I've lived all over the country in homes with and without basements.
    I've concluded that it's better not to have one.