American Culture Class: What to do when you basement is flooded

Sometimes we have to face annoying situations that imply to change our day plans because they have a high priority, those annoying situations, that are not planed, might change all the tasks that you have planned in your day. Undoubtedly one of the most common annoying situations in America is when your basement is totally flooded; this happened to me and I will tell you four steps that you should follow to resolve this problem.

This morning when I woke up, I took my breakfast like usually, and after that, I realized that my day was not a normal day, When I was going to take my shower I noticed that the water was not hot enough so I decided not to take the shower and figure out what was going on so I went downstairs to take a look of my water heater that is located in the basement, in that moment my nightmare began. My basement was totally flooded and I was shocked, but after few minutes I breathed and thought “my aunt is not going to like this”.

After I told my aunt about the problem, changed my clothes and was ready for the action, we could resolve the problem and I will tell you how we did it. The first step you should follow is the next: Localize the main water valve of your house and shut it down. This is important to avoid your house become more flooded.

The second step is draining the water. You should localize and open the drain that is in the bottom of your house, this could be a little hard if you don’t have the accurate tool to open it, easily it could become one of the steps that require more time (this happened to me). It is important to pull out the water because in that way it will be easier to work in the place that was flooded. Don’t forget that once you have opened the drain, you will have to wait until all the water is gone, this could be a very slow process.

Once the water is gone, you should localize where the leak is in order to shut down the valve that provides water to it. This is important because in that way you will be able to rehabilitate the main water valve of the house and you will have water in the rest of the house. In my case, the problem was the water heater, it was broken, so, we closed the valve that provides water to the water heater, and rehabilitated the main water valve.

When you have controlled the problem, the next step to follow is: Remove anything that could be damaged by water. You should take carpets, rugs, electronic device and food to a warmer place in order to do not incur in more expenses and avoid you place could get a bad smell.

Undoubtedly, when you have to face annoying situations like this, your day has to change inevitably and you’d better have good neighbors where you can take a shower. I couldn’t assist to my American Culture Class this morning, because I had a very busy morning, but I suppose sometimes you can learn American culture from different ways.  I hope my teacher forgive me and understand that facing these early situations is not easy for anyone....... My friends told me that you were really mad and I don´t want that, I don´t want you think about I don´t  take you seriously, I really had a busy morning, that´s why I couldn´t go to class, don´t be angry, I really care what you think, please dont be angry, I esteem you a lot and I don´t want to lose your friendship because you are a wonderful person. I hope you understand.



Take care.