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Homeowners could wait weeks for dry floors

Recent storms left hundreds in the Quad Cities area with flooded basements and ruined floors.

Recent storms left hundreds in the Quad Cities area with flooded basements and ruined floors.

Beth Peirce said she woke up July 1 to find her carpeted basement floors soaked.

"I just peeked down the stairs knowing I was going to see water," Peirce said. "The Legos were floating by, and the kids' Pottery Barn chairs were floating by as well, so I knew I had standing water."

Companies like Werner Restoration have their work cut out for them, with wait lists as long as three weeks.

"I can tell you, I was at the office answering phones for three hours straight," said Jaclyn McKenzie, Associate Marketing Director for Werner Restorations. "We've had over 150 phone calls so far."

If people call and find they are on a long wait list, McKenzie said she usually tries to give them advice on how to clean up the water as much as possible; by pumping it out and using towels or open windows to dry out the room.

"It is a very stressful time because you wake up and you're not really sure what to do," McKenzie said. "We try to calm them down and tell them it's going to be okay."

After they clear away debris and pump any standing water out, the Werner Restoration team extracts water from the carpet with a high-powered vacuum; a process that could cost anywhere between $2,000 to $6,000.

"I'm thankful that it was just our basement. I'm thankful that it was just sump pump," Peirce said, glad the storms weren't worse. "It's just stuff, nobody was hurt."

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