There is standing water under my house. Is that urgent?

Less urgent than water in the living space, but not something to leave. It raises humidity through the whole house, and mould on a subfloor is a much bigger job than the pump-out.

My crawl space smells musty but I cannot see any water.

That usually means moisture is present and something is growing. It is worth looking at.

My sump pump stopped and the basement is taking on water.

Call now. A failed sump during a wet spell fills a basement in hours rather than days.

Will the vapour barrier need replacing?

Often, yes. A barrier that has been under standing water usually cannot be salvaged, and a compromised one is a large part of why a space stays damp.

Flooded basement and crawl space cleanup — Lynnwood, WA

Crawl spaces are the ones people find late. Often months after the water arrived, usually because of a smell rather than a sight.

Call (425) 380-0446 · Answered 24/7

One event, or every wet season?

This is the first time

Something changed. A pipe, an appliance, a sump pump that stopped, or a one-off storm that overwhelmed drainage which had coped until now. The work is extraction, drying and finding what changed.

It happens most winters

Then it is not really a restoration problem. Water is arriving from outside in a volume the ground and the drainage around the building cannot take, and it will keep arriving every October through March until that changes.

Drying still has to happen — wet insulation and a damp subfloor do not fix themselves. But the recurrence is a drainage question, and it is worth knowing that before spending on the same dry-out three years running.

In Lynnwood, recurring seasonal water is common enough to expect. The city sits in the Scriber Creek drainage basin, and stormwater moves across the ground into ditches, catch basins and culverts before it reaches the creek. Where that system is overwhelmed or obstructed, the water finds the lowest opening available.

Pump-out, then everything after it

Standing water comes out first. Then anything porous that cannot be dried comes out — insulation and vapour barrier usually, sometimes subfloor. Then drying with equipment sized to the space, then readings until the numbers hold.

Where the cause is drainage, that work follows. Where it is plumbing, the repair comes first.

The part of the house nobody looks at

Air moves from a crawl space up into the living space, not the other way round. A damp crawl space raises humidity through the whole house, and that shows up as condensation on windows, a musty smell that nobody can locate, and mould on the underside of a floor.

By the time it is noticeable upstairs, the subfloor has usually been wet for a while. That is a considerably larger job than pumping out water was.

Common questions

There is standing water under my house. Is that urgent?: Less urgent than water in the living space, but not something to leave. It raises humidity through the whole house, and mould on a subfloor is a much bigger job than the pump-out.
My crawl space smells musty but I cannot see any water.: That usually means moisture is present and something is growing. It is worth looking at.
My sump pump stopped and the basement is taking on water.: Call now. A failed sump during a wet spell fills a basement in hours rather than days.
Will the vapour barrier need replacing?: Often, yes. A barrier that has been under standing water usually cannot be salvaged, and a compromised one is a large part of why a space stays damp.

Water under the house?

There is no obligation. If it turns out to be dry, that is worth knowing too.

Call (425) 380-0446