# Flooded Basement: Asking for Safety **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2023, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793 "2023-12-19T00:14:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/1 "2023-12-19T00:14:40Z")
I have no experience with a flooded basement, so I must ask - even if this may be obvious to the next guy…: Our basement flooded from this heavy rain that dumped on the east coast. We got about 1/8-in across our basement floor. I just want to be sure if it safe to operate the electric heat pump. I imagine there is not enough water to touch anything energized? For better or for worse, we already walked through the water. The heat pump was not running, but it was energized. So…would you say it is safe to run the electric heat? When you consider your reply, think about us working down there, standing in the water, trying to clean up…is it safe with the heat pump running? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/2 "2023-12-19T00:16:49Z")
You should be calling a local electrician(HVAC, plumber, or whoever deals in such things) rather than asking here. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/3 "2023-12-19T00:24:15Z")
Is the heat pump on the floor? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/4 "2023-12-19T00:27:47Z")
Generally, there is nothing energized that close to the floor (all controls are mounted in a way that they are reasonably accessible). But: A wet floor is a serious shock risk. If you run any appliance, don’t go touching it until the floor is dry. ETA: I once was at a jobsite where the electrical “pedestal” was immersed in 4" of water. I told the electrician that I had met there that he was welcome to work on the wiring, but there was no way I was going to do it - I’ll just stand back and watch, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/5 "2023-12-19T00:53:34Z")
To be specific, we’re talking about a split system with an air handling unit (from floor to ceiling) in the basement. In the air handler are the electric coils to create the heat, the fan, and wiring for the controls. I’ve seen the inside, and nothing electrical is at floor level. However, if the filter is wet (which I don’t know off-hand), I wager I could be blowing moisture where it doesn’t belong. OTOH, one could argue that in summer, condensate comes off the cooling coil (just downstream of the filter) which could in theory blow to where not desired (although most is drained out of the air handling unit). Does this help? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/6 "2023-12-19T01:06:45Z")
You are probably ok. But you could just keep it turned off for the 30 minutes or less that it takes to remove 1/8" water from the floor with a mop. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/7 "2023-12-19T02:21:52Z")
As someone whose ignorance on this subject is vast, I have adopted a guiding principle: _If you have to ask, “is this safe?” it isn’t. Call an expert._ ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/8 "2023-12-20T00:35:19Z")
Well, we played it safe and kept the heat off until the situation improved…also allowing time for critical things that may be touched by water to dry out. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/9 "2023-12-20T14:32:17Z")
FWIW, this does suggest a hazard, but if it had been my house, other than looking around for any way that water might have reached something electrical, I would have powered things on. I mean, how exactly did the water get it? If the groundwater crept upward such that water permeated in around the edges of the foundation, and never got any higher, you’d have been OK, whereas if the water came in up high on a wall and had the chance to run over electricals, or if it had been much higher before you found it (and left a sort of a bathtub ring), then you’d have new worries. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/10 "2023-12-20T14:50:58Z")
As an aside, do you have a sump pump? If not, I suspect this is a sign that you ought to plan on getting one installed. My house didn’t have one when we first moved in, and everything was fine until April when the water table began to rise. 1/8" describes it well. That’s when I put in a sump pump–in the empty well where the prior owner had removed the old one. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/11 "2023-12-20T14:59:15Z")
For that amount of water, why not invest in a wet/dry vacuum. They’re not all that expensive and will certainly speed up your cleanup. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/12 "2023-12-20T15:05:55Z")
Not the OP, so I don’t know the nature of their water. In my case (NJ), the 1/8" of water was actually the level of the water table, so even though it seemed to be very shallow, as I vacuumed it up in the wet/dry vacuum, more would come in from the edges. The only real solution was to have a sump pump keeping the level below the slab. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/13 "2023-12-20T17:18:04Z")
Ugh. Nasty problem. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flooded-basement-asking-for-safety/994793/14 "2023-12-20T18:45:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You are probably ok. But you could just keep it turned off for the 30 minutes or less that it takes to remove 1/8" water from the floor with a mop. > [@Chefguy](#): > > For that amount of water, why not invest in a wet/dry vacuum. They’re not all that expensive and will certainly speed up your cleanup. An 1/8" of water across an entire basement is a lot of water, many gallons. I would want a wet-dry vac, at least until I can’t get any more sucked up & _maybe_ then use a mop. Don’t forget [Damprid](https://damprid.com/) if you don’t have a dehumidifier down there