As basements are located fully or partially underground, they can be more easily damaged by water. If your basement experiences water damage via flooding, a burst pipe, a leaking water heater, or other means, it is important to know how to clean things up after the damage occurs. Some water damage is more obvious than others, especially in a basement. 

Regularly Inspect Your Basement 

First, it is essential to keep an eye on what is happening in your basement. If your basement isn't an incorporated living area that you use daily, you are still going to want to go downstairs and check out the basement at least once a month to ensure that it hasn't been damaged by water or moisture in any way. Regular inspections will help you catch damage before it gets too intense. 

Get Rid of the Water 

Second, if you do find water in your basement, you will want to get rid of the water right away. If you are dealing with a lot of water, you can use a sump pump to remove it, or you can use a shop vacuum to remove the water. 

If you have a natural flood occurring, run the sump pump, and wait for the flood to be over to go about removing the rest of the water. If the water is coming from a source that you can turn off, turn off the water, and then get to work cleaning things up.  

For lingering water, you can use towels and mops to get rid of it. 

Get Rid of the Moisture 

When your basement is impacted by water damage, getting rid of the water is just the first step. You also need to get rid of all the excess moisture that is now hanging out in your basement. You can do this by running dehumidifiers that will pull the water out of the air. You will want to use air-moving equipment to create crosscurrents in your basement, especially since that is hard to generate naturally in an enclosed environment.  

As part of getting rid of the moisture, you will want to get fresh air flowing. You can do this by opening up the basement doors, and if you have any basement windows, open them as well.  

Deal with Mold 

Basements are normally dark environments and often have higher humidity levels than homes; add in water damage, and mold can start to grow within hours. If you have mold growing in your basement, you will need to go about killing the mold, and then you will need to disinfect the space as well. 

Removed Damaged Material 

Not everything is going to survive the drying process. You will want to pull out any porous surface that got wet, which means getting rid of the carpet, padding, drywall, and other porous materials that will have soaked in the water. 

Don't try to clean up your basement on your own; instead, get help from a water damage restoration team. They can bring in all the right equipment to help get rid of the water and moisture, deal with the mold, and remove the damaged material.