Flooded basement cleanup in Denver.
24/7 emergency pump-out, extraction and structural drying — usually on site within the hour. Flooding right now? Do these three things first.
- Don't go down the stairs into standing water.Basements are where the furnace, water heater, washer and breaker panel live. If any outlet or appliance is submerged, the water may be energised. Cut power to the basement from an upstairs panel if you have one. If you can't reach a panel while staying dry, stay upstairs.
- Work out where it's coming from.Clean water rising evenly from the floor is usually groundwater or a failed sump pump. Water tracking down a wall is coming from outside — a window well, grading, or a downspout. Water from a fixture or pipe is a supply line. It changes what we bring.
- Get what you can lift off the floor.Only if the water is clean and the power is off. Cardboard wicks water up in minutes. Photograph the room first.
We'll tell you what to do while the truck is on its way
Why Denver basements flood
The sump pump quit
By far the most common. Pumps last around seven to ten years and they nearly always fail during the storm that finally overwhelms them — or during the power cut that comes with it. A pump running constantly during snowmelt is telling you something.
Spring snowmelt into frozen ground
Late-season Front Range snow melts fast while the ground beneath is still frozen and can't absorb it. The meltwater travels sideways, finds the foundation, and enters at the cove joint where wall meets slab.
Our clay soil
Much of the metro sits on expansive clay that swells when wet and presses against foundation walls — which is why older Denver homes develop hairline cracks that leak only during heavy rain, and why the same corner floods every single time.
Downpours, gutters and window wells
Summer storms drop a lot of water quickly. Clogged gutters, downspouts ending at the foundation, and uncovered window wells will each put water into a basement faster than any drain removes it.
If water is coming up through a floor drain or basement toilet and it's discoloured or smells, that's a sewer backup — Category 3, biohazardous. Keep everyone out, stop running water anywhere in the house, and tell us on the phone. Sewage cleanup →
What can be saved
- Usually: concrete and framing, solid wood furniture, metal, contents that were up off the floor, hard flooring if we reach it quickly.
- Sometimes: carpet, with clean water and extraction inside about 48 hours — the pad almost never survives.
- Rarely: drywall below the water line, particleboard and MDF furniture, mattresses, anything porous touched by sewage.
What we do
Extract with truck-mounted pumps, pull wet pad, cut drywall back to dry material, then set air movers and dehumidifiers and dry the structure itself — framing, slab and cavities — with readings checked daily. Typically three to five days. More on extraction and drying →
Common questions
What do I do first when my basement floods?
Do not enter standing water if outlets or appliances are submerged — basements contain the furnace, water heater and often the breaker panel, so the water can be energised. Cut power from an upstairs panel if you can do so while staying dry, identify where the water is entering, and photograph the room before moving anything.
Why do Denver basements flood?
The most common causes are sump pump failure, spring snowmelt running over still-frozen ground and entering at the cove joint, expansive clay soil pressing against foundation walls, and summer downpours overwhelming gutters, downspouts and uncovered window wells.
Can carpet be saved after a basement flood?
Sometimes. With clean water and extraction beginning within roughly 48 hours carpet can often be saved, though the pad underneath almost never is. Carpet touched by sewage cannot be salvaged.
Should I replace my sump pump after a flood?
If it failed, yes — and consider a battery backup unit. Most basement floods we attend during storms involve either a pump past its service life or a power cut that stopped a working pump at the worst moment.
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