Flood! What now?

[ClassAGeek]

I got a call last night from the CG where we left our MH between weekends. The CG staff had just found water 'pouring for your MH in every direction'. They turned off the water and gave me a call. Water have been flooding our MH for about 24 hours.

When I got there this morning, I found a bathroom faucet had been left on. The result: water collected inside the bathroom and flowed out through the coach and then drained though the driver side compartments. All carpets were saturated. All left side storage compartments had standing water. No electrical and electronic equipment were visibly damaged.

Throughout the day I used a shop vac to remove about 5 gallons of water from the carpets. No other standing water remains. I have 2 fans and 2 heaters running with all windows open, to help speed drying.

What Now?

What would you do now? Other than never being this stupid again(!), what's a good next step?

Would you make an insurance claim? Is there hidden damage that isn't obvious?

Is there any way to get the carpets up? I can't see an easy way to do it. What if I don't lift the carpets? Will they get mouldy?

I would appreciate any advice you have.

[Two_Jayhawks]

blucrabbie wrote:

Pogoil wrote:
Never leave your RV with the water on. Always shut it off and you can never have this problem again.

Pogoil.

Even if we leave to go to grocery store, we always turn our water off.

Me too.

[Carvin_Marvin]

Amazing that it supposedly ran for 24 hours and no one shut off the water. I had a similar experience. The fellow camped next saw water gushing out of the water fill. I asked why didn't you shut off the water. His response was " I didn't think of that" Good luck on the clean and dry out.

[BradinOhio]

blucrabbie wrote:

Pogoil wrote:
Never leave your RV with the water on. Always shut it off and you can never have this problem again.

Pogoil.

Even if we leave to go to grocery store, we always turn our water off.

This is the approach we always follow as well. We also turn the water pump switch off if we are using the onboard fresh water tank. I saw what happened to a 5er years ago that had an internal water line burst while the Owner's were gone for the day....it was ugly. Good luck!

[journey15]

Pogoil wrote:
Never leave your RV with the water on. Always shut it off and you can never have this problem again.

Pogoil.

Even if we leave to go to grocery store, we always turn our water off.

[Executive45]

Do us a favor...when the resto guys get there, ask them if you should use heat or A/C...there seems to be two opinions as to which is correct. Ask the pros...let us know the outcome.....Dennis

[chuckftboy]

Smart move filing the claim, if mold gets started, it can ruin youy coach.

[ClassAGeek]

I wasn't sure if I would make a claim because the damage doesn't look that bad. But after considering the advice from many of you, I filed my claim this evening. A local restoration company will be on site tomorrow with an adjuster to follow the day after.

[11B]

As others have said "file an insurance claim" then get a local disaster clean-up company in to the MH. Good chance that all the carpet will have to come up (if not repaced)and for sure you will want to replace the padding. The Pro company can run tests for mold in the walls and othe locations. The nice thing is that the disaster clean-up companies work hand in hand with the insuance companies and can tell you exactly what they will and will not pay for

I flooded in my house 2 years ago (fire sprinkling system in ceailing broke) but got a disaster company on it right away. Cost over 100,000 to fix but never did the insurance company question the Disaster clean-up companies bills.

[J-Rooster]

Pogoil wrote:
Never leave your RV with the water on. Always shut it off and you can never have this problem again.

Fans work much better than heaters to remove water. Leave windows open so the moisture can be forced open by the fans. Let them run many days after you think it is dry. Open all compartments and cabinets. Use as many fans as you can get.

Pogoil.

X-2, Also pull your carpets up and use a dryer to dry floor and carpets. It's a pain but if you do it right everything will be O.K.

[Davehrn]

A couple of bags of crystal cat litter... the silica will absorb a lot of moisture... vacuum up with shop vac...

[tony_lee]

You will have to decide whether $1000 deductible PLUS increased insurance premiums in future years is going to be more than what it will cost to clean it all up if you don't involve the insurance company.

[ClassAGeek]

I like the idea of making a claim and then seeing what the estimate will be. I can then see if it is worth it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Leaving all the windows open with the heat on likely removing more moisture than running the A/C or dehumidifier (think hair dryer outside). If we get rain as predicted tomorrow I will switch to a dehumidifier. Relative humidity inside right now is 40%. Not bad considering the damp carpets.

Further investigation reveals that much of the water exited directly below the sink where a large hole was cut for wiring. Water flowed through with relative ease. I thought something like this happened since the carpet was actually drier at the front and back of the coach. Some of the dampness can be attributed to capillary action.

Getting the wires under the sink wet is not a problem, since after passing through the hole, they run under the floor inside a split casing conduit. They are pretty much exposed to the elements.

[msmith1199]

The deductible doesn't change my mind and here's why. I'm no expert on motorhome repairs, but I do know that flood damage can appear way down the road. What happens in two years when the side wall on your motorhome starts to come apart and you find out it was because water from this incident got in and it started to rot? You can't file a claim two years later (generally). But if you already have the claim filed and more damage appears then it can still be an open claim.

[rgatijnet1]

If they are like most insurance companies, they will send someone out to give an estimate as to the amount of damage. If it exceeds $1000, and they find things that you may have missed, fine. If it is less than $1000, it will cost you nothing for having called them. If it happens to be an estimate of $2000, I assume that they will write you a check, LESS the deductible, which would still put you ahead, especially if you do the repairs yourself.

[Mr_Mark1]

workhardplayharder wrote:
Don't run heater run the AC.

Actually, the opposite.... run the heater! I made that mistake when having our home carpets cleaned in the heat of a summer (years ago). I, too, thought that running the air-conditioning would help them dry faster... .it took absolutely forever.

I turned off the air and let the upstairs heat up.... they were dry in no time at all. The heat will dry the carpets.

To the OP, I would contact my insurance company too. I have a feeling the carpet will need to come up to see if there was any floor damage.

Let us know what happens.

MM.