Basement Flood Questions

[stuco191]

Hello fellow Bpers

We had a pretty significant basement flood last night and luckily very few of my Sets were damaged, only about $400 worth of sets had any water on them (biggest casualty was a complete soaked Tower of Orthanc). Let me tell ya... muscle rack shelves elevate and work well! All that to say the water is continuing to poor in but we have it relatively “maintained” but the basement is still wet. The Question I have is how long can a lego box hangout in a wet basement (without direct contact to water) before it starts to absorb moisture and damage the box? Thanks in advance 

Note: Yes I have insurance and have started a claim for damaged legos and other soaked personal items

[mizeur]

Most paper products should be fine at 40-50% humidity at 72* or lower. Above that and it'll probably start taking on moisture. But it's a relationship between temp and ambient moisture because higher temp air holds more water.

Temp changes are also a problem with condensation. And mildew, mold, and other smells are also a risk.

Basically, you want to get the sets elsewhere or get a pump, fans, and dehumidifier running ASAP.

 

[stuco191]

Most paper products should be fine at 40-50% humidity at 72* or lower. Above that and it'll probably start taking on moisture. But it's a relationship between temp and ambient moisture because higher temp air holds more water.
Temp changes are also a problem with condensation. And mildew, mold, and other smells are also a risk.
Basically, you want to get the sets elsewhere or get a pump, fans, and dehumidifier running ASAP.
 

Thanks so much! Appreciate the input


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[KShine]

Assuming that you won't be keeping your new stream as a permanent house feature - I wouldn't expect that you would have any long term issues.

Short term, I would definitely keep the air ventilating. You might also look to unbox the wet ones - Even if they are surface only damage (and you know it), a buyer will not be motivated by signs of water damage. 

[Mark Twain]

Agreed with what has been written above. Mold would be a high concern for me. The slick surface of most lego boxes should provide some protection, but where it contacts the wooden surface of the shelf or else where you are likely to get a lot of mildew and mold. You need to maintain an active dehumidifier to lower the relative moisture to a little as possible and consider a new location.  

[stuco191]

@Mark Twain @KShine Thanks guys. Yes Looks like water is slowing, we have borrowed a dehumidifier and have begun the process of clean up. Hopefully this is not a regular thing but if it is we might have to pursue alternative storage options. 

[Ed Mack]

If you choose to keep the sets in the basement, then I would wrap them in plastic or put them in sealable bags of some sort.  They make large ziploc bags for clothes.  

[Mark Twain]

10 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

If you choose to keep the sets in the basement, then I would wrap them in plastic or put them in sealable bags of some sort.  They make large ziploc bags for clothes.  

I'd caution this route. The vast majority of plastic is permeable and not a sufficient moisture barrier long term. You'd need a thick waterproof material, generally at least 5 or 6 mils thick. The stuff is expensive and doesn't go very far. It will also lock in any moisture that's already present, so if your cardboard boxes are already drenched in humidity, you are essentially entombing them in that environment. 

[Ed Mack]

30 minutes ago, Mark Twain said:

I'd caution this route. The vast majority of plastic is permeable and not a sufficient moisture barrier long term. You'd need a thick waterproof material, generally at least 5 or 6 mils thick. The stuff is expensive and doesn't go very far. It will also lock in any moisture that's already present, so if your cardboard boxes are already drenched in humidity, you are essentially entombing them in that environment. 

True.  I wasn't really thinking about the sets that got wet.  Yes, they need to breath.  Even finished basements with HVAC are somewhat damp.  Best case scenario would be to move them upstairs, but who really wants rooms filled with LEGO sets?  You could also temporarily rent a POD to store the sets.  They are somewhat secure and weatherproof.

[Darth_Raichu]

Yep, remove any wet box and wipe the plastic bags inside until dry (if necessary)

Long term, I would invest on good sump pump (well depending where you live), a waterbug as backup pump, a wet/dry vacuum to help get the water out, and high velocity fan(s)

[KShine]

When I was younger, I had an apartment in NYC. One day my upstairs neighbor flooded my apartment - His name was Mr Flood.

[mizeur]

If you don't have a risk of pets or small kids eating them, silica dessicant packs might not be a bad temporary investment either. Could pair that with bagging, even.

[Ed Mack]

19 minutes ago, mizeur said:

If you don't have a risk of pets or small kids eating them, silica dessicant packs might not be a bad temporary investment either. Could pair that with bagging, even.

 

[Mark Twain]

Look, it’s flooded once and will likely do so again at some point. My thinking here is simply to expect and be prepared.Buying a simple sump pump or transfer pump from Harbor Freight and pairing it with a automatic switch that turns on and off when it detects water is cheap. So is a basic dehumidifier with a box fan set to turn on if humidity increases to a certain level. All you need is access to an outlet with decent GFCI protection and you should have a solid system that works automatically, one you don’t have to worry about if you travel or can’t run home to start it. Shouldn’t cost more than $400.

You can use a passive humidity control system, like silica crystals, but they don’t scale well to the size of a basement. In my former life of collecting cigars, I had multiple humidors and coolers filled with 60-70 boxes and used heartfelt humdification beads, that you condition to a set point and the beads do the rest. I had five pounds of beads for maybe 10 cubic feet of space, you’d need hundreds of pounds for even a smallish basement, along with some sort of active airflow system.


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[Darth_Raichu]

1 hour ago, Mark Twain said:

You can use a passive humidity control system, like silica crystals, but they don’t scale well to the size of a basement. In my former life of collecting cigars, I had multiple humidors and coolers filled with 60-70 boxes and used heartfelt humdification beads, that you condition to a set point and the beads do the rest. I had five pounds of beads for maybe 10 cubic feet of space, you’d need hundreds of pounds for even a smallish basement, along with some sort of active airflow system.

OT but I am curious if you ever used rock salt as dehumidifier

[Mark Twain]

OT but I am curious if you ever used rock salt as dehumidifier

No. I used tons of rock salt as water softener growing up. Our house was on a well with hard water. I did a few experiments with super absorbing polymers, otherwise known as the active ingredient in baby diapers. Absorbs and holds moisture, but doesn’t release it, which makes it a great mold growth medium.


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[thombockerman]

Making an insurance claim on water damage under 5k was a mistake. I too made the same mistake and on your second claim your rates go up on all of your properties. For years. Nothing you can do about it because it follows your social security number so switching insurance companies won’t even help.  For most people your deductible is 500 and good luck trying to convince an insurance company that water damage to Lego boxes is covered. If this happens again don’t tell the insurance, or make sure it is well worth the claim because they will get thousands out of you in premiums regardless of the amount your claims were. 

[$20 on joe vs dan]

On 5/3/2019 at 5:42 PM, thombockerman said:

Making an insurance claim on water damage under 5k was a mistake. I too made the same mistake and on your second claim your rates go up on all of your properties. For years. Nothing you can do about it because it follows your social security number so switching insurance companies won’t even help.  For most people your deductible is 500 and good luck trying to convince an insurance company that water damage to Lego boxes is covered. If this happens again don’t tell the insurance, or make sure it is well worth the claim because they will get thousands out of you in premiums regardless of the amount your claims were. 

Ditto this...some insurance is for CATASTROPHIC events only...and home owners is exactly that.

[Lordoflego]

On 5/2/2019 at 11:20 AM, stuco191 said:

@Mark Twain @KShine Thanks guys. Yes Looks like water is slowing, we have borrowed a dehumidifier and have begun the process of clean up. Hopefully this is not a regular thing but if it is we might have to pursue alternative storage options. 

Dihumidifiers are great. Keep emptying the bucket unless you have a hose from it directly to a drain. 

[Huskers1236]

We were in a tornado warning last night with a pretty wicked storm and honestly this thread and my stuff was the first thing to pop in my mind.(don't worry, my wife had herself and the kids in the deepest,darkest part of our basement for safety while I watched the storm ?).   I really need to look into some insurance for it all.  

[Jimking23]

When we had our house built 15 years ago, I thought we needed good home owners insurance in case of a fire. Ironically now, I fear storms and flooding more and yes, we have separate flood insurance. 

[benjamin4172]

I recently bought my self a gadget wich is like a fire-Alarm just for water. You simply put it on the floor and when water hits it, it goes of! There are also such gadgets with App-Alarms and so on. So maybe that would also help in the future.

[demollo]

Hey All,

Not directly related stuff, but I store my lego sets on the attic(as many before me my wife told me that she's sick and tired of all those Lego boxes around the house ). The thing is, I am worried about the temprature dfference between day and night and winter/summer. The Lego boxes are inside the Lego cardboxes and then wrapped with the cling film(foil). The target storage time is around 2-3 years, then I will start reselling.

What do you guys think, would all be good with the sets in 2 years ?

Cheers.

[joch29]

1 hour ago, demollo said:

Hey All,

Not directly related stuff, but I store my lego sets on the attic(as many before me my wife told me that she's sick and tired of all those Lego boxes around the house ). The thing is, I am worried about the temprature dfference between day and night and winter/summer. The Lego boxes are inside the Lego cardboxes and then wrapped with the cling film(foil). The target storage time is around 2-3 years, then I will start reselling.

What do you guys think, would all be good with the sets in 2 years ?

Cheers.

I think it would be fine speaking from experience Just make sure you don't stack them of varying sizes within the boxes. Compact them like they would originally come in those lego boxes would give you the best outcome.I'm more concern of a leaky roof. I'm guessing that's what the cling film is for?👍

[demollo]

Thanks @joch29 I appreciate it.  Indeed the cling film is for any water. Not that I think it will happen.

The boxes are stored vertically in orginal lego tranportation box. I think this should be safe to avoid any creases and such. 

In anyway, once again thanks.