My last 2 days...

StephanieH · #1 02/28/10, 08:08 AM

We have a well & city sewer. Friday night the city sewer backed up into our basement...where all of my preps were. So, my preps that I keep sort of quiet about, have had photos taken by the city, the insurance co & the sewer people. I guess they were really taking photos of the back-up but you cant miss a thousand or so canned goods, cases of powered milk, gallons of bleach, & more! lol. Lucky for me we only got 2 inches of back-up and all of my stuff is on shelves, so none of it got wet. But, the big deal, I had to move it all so that the insurance people can clean. What a job!

Wisconsin Ann · #2 02/28/10, 09:05 AM

ewww. nasty things, sewer backups.

As Rose suggested...hanging sheets over the shelves is a great way to keep prying eyes out. My gran had cupboards built in the basement for "stuff" and she just hated the look of rows and rows of canned food and boxes of things. So she made curtains for the cupboars/shelves. Simple dowels as the "rods" and a simple flower curtain from extra fabric or old towels...she'd change them every couple of years as the mood struck

Glad nothing was lost...it's one of the problems with keeping preps in the basement...flooding.

Cyngbaeld · #3 02/28/10, 09:12 AM

I understand! I just had all my preps and nearly everything else moved out of the house and into a storage trailer. It had to be done so the house could be moved and repaired. Best thing to do is not be upset or make a fuss. Act like it is no big deal.

Danaus29 · #4 02/28/10, 10:51 AM

Sheets, not in my basement. It's too wet. I would use tarps. They don't get dingy dusty and last forever if kept out of the sun.

We had an anti-back flow valve put on our sewer line when the thing was installed. You never know if or when it will happen but we didn't want to take any chances. I don't know if you can put one on an existing line but it might be worth checking into.

hunter63 · #5 02/28/10, 11:02 AM

Good tip.
I use tarps for prying eyes around the garage during rummage sales.
Cover all walls floor to ceiling.

unregistered29228 · #6 02/28/10, 11:26 AM

I bought some cheapie blankets at the dollar store - 3 for $9 or something. I have them over the front of some of my storage shelves so a casual observer can't see what's behind there. I have a tarp over my water barrels and some of my permanent storage buckets, too.

Trixters_muse · #7 02/28/10, 12:28 PM

Last year I installed closed cupboards and shelves in my garage/kids hang out room but I had one area in the back of the garage that contains our bikes, water barrels, buckets of grain, etc. out in the open. I bought 2 inexpensive waterproof cloth shower curtains to conceal these items. They have the benefits of a tarp and they blend in well with the rest of the decor. I was able to suspend a painted pvc pipe down from a roof beam then hang the curtains from that.

texican · #8 02/28/10, 11:41 PM

Did you have any 'warning' the sewer was backing up, or did you discover it after it was all over with?

If I were in the same boat, I'd be thinking about putting a huge valve on the 3 or 4" line where your line goes into theirs, especially if it's visible, in your basement. First sign of backing up, go down and pull the valve, and keep the sewerage to a minimum. Just remember to open it back up, after the troubles are over with.

Do you have sump pump in the basement? to take out any flood waters? don't know if they'd pump sewage or not.

Ughh... what a weekend....

StephanieH · #9 03/01/10, 08:30 AM

There was no warning at all. My dad is a plumber & he said we are going to dig a pit and put a sump pump in it. I have lived here almost 9 years & never had a problem.

One good thing...my dad helped us carry all of the preps to the garage & he saw how much I had & he realized I needed more shelving! He and my mom bought be 8 more feet of deep shelving! woohoo!

Also, I did have sheets in front of it all but with sewage on the ground I pulled up the sheets so it didnt soak into them.

texican · #10 03/01/10, 08:44 PM

If you plan on living in this home, forever, I'd recommend that you have some alternative systems in place, for dealing with this. This time, the grid was up and everything's working, so you got your problem taken care of.

Imagine that something 'bad' has happened, the shtf is "ON", and it's questionable if 'services' will ever return. And, on top of the regular troubles one would encounter, the sewer starts flooding your basement, rendering your life sustaining preps unusable.

I'd have some kind of shutoff valve. And, a dc powered sump pump. You might get your sewage pumped out, but if you can't stop it from continually draining into your basement, it's a lost cause... and if all of your preps are under sewage, you and your family may be in just as bad a shape as the 'grasshoppers' that didn't prep at all....

something to think about....

StephanieH · #11 03/02/10, 07:51 AM

Very true. Something I would have never thought about...

We are planning on building a root cellar this summer. We should be able to keep a lot in there. I will talk to my dad about a shut off valve & the sump pump.