Flood on a Mountain FINAL UPDATE 10/21

[WeeOne]

10/21 - As we were trying to clean and throw away, the hot water heating system decided to have problems and we had to have the plumbers out 3 times. Didn't really need that bill on top of everything else. But the system is working good now. A week ago the asbestos mitigation people finished, then Tuesday the Royal Plus people came back and Bio washed the floors and wall studs. DH had to go down the mountain and stay in the Motorhome because it was suppose to get cold and we didn't winterize the thing. I had the U Haul trailer almost empty by the time DH got back on Wednesday. We had put a lot of stuff in plastic containers, so I set them on the floor and put the cardboard boxes on top. Not going to get wet again!! We finished up on Thursday and made our pile of stuff to take to Texas. Friday morning I packed the Jeep. (I'm the best packer in our house) Over the winter the room and garage will have lots of time to dry out. Have been too tired to talk about redoing the walls and if carpet will be installed again or not. We closed the door on the house and headed down the mountain. It took over 3 hours to get to the Motorhome, a trip that usually is one hour down the Big Thompson Canyon(Hwy 34). They say there will be a usable road for Hwy 34 and 36 by December, but I hope people aren't holding their breath on that. It was, and is, so nice to be back in the Motorhome and have our own potty again! Not going to miss the 'no flush' zone.

GOOD News - My embroidery unit seems to be Ok. Took it to the Bernina dealer and we hooked it up to my 440 and their computer and it ran. Also, the Bernina 1530 survived. Repair man had to polish bobbin case to remove some rust, but otherwise it works fine. And I finally looked at the roll of batting. The outside was stained about 18" up, but once passed that it is only bad about 3" on the end. It doesn't smell. So, I will cut off the first 1/2 yard and then cut about 6" off the bad end. Sure am glad I had it sitting on the raw edge end and not the folded end.

As I type this, DH is taking his turn driving the Motorhome. I started the day driving. We are in the northwest side of Texas, heading south and should reach Ransom Rd RV Park on Wednesday.

THANK YOU ALL for your support and prayers. You are a very special group of people. You gave me the encouragement to keep truckin' to get the job done.

Hugs,
Lyn


10/1 - My DD came up the mountain and helped for a day and a half. She helped us get a lot done. The problems just keep coming. On Sunday my cell phone quit. Found my old one and Verizon turned it on. Got the replacement today, now have to find time to get it set up. Saturday a guy came to test for lead and asbestos in the drywall (state law). Received call today that we may have a small amount of asbestos in drywall in sewing room. I’m sure that will make it more expensive to remove.

9/29 - Well Pods didn't work out. Our driveway is too steep to get one in. I'm going to rent a U Haul trailer, tomorrow, for a few days. That will get expensive if we keep it too long. Many people have had the same thing happen to them. Everything was Ok after the big rainfall, but then more rain and a few days later the water started seeping up. The trash pile is growing. Will be glad when the dumpster gets here Tuesday. DH is going to try and use the John Deere, we'll put stuff in the bucket, then drop in dumpster. I'm washing the fabric that got wet, thank the Lord it was only a few yards. I'm still going to try and wash the batting, will have to cut it down to 3 yard pieces or so. I'm using Borax and Tide, letting it soak for about an hour then washing. Seems to have worked on the first batch. Just finish lunch, time to get back at it. It is a pretty day here, have to remember God is always with us!

Evening- I think the old Bernina 1530, is dead. A Featherweight box is too moldy to save. I had a table runner layered and had started quilting. Tried to wash, but batting fell apart. Not sure of the make of batting, but wonder if that will happen to the large roll of batting that got wet. Tomorrow will tell, when I try to wash, 3 yards at a time. I had all my Embroidery thread in number batches of about 24 per plastic bag, which were all in a printer box (new printer I had bought a year ago). I took this box to Texas, in the Jeep. All is good, except the bottom 3 bags, they were wet even though they were closed. DH suggested I dip each cone of thread in Colliadal Silver and let it dry in the sun. Worth a try. Hope we can get done soon. Just heard weather on 10 O'clock news, snow possible on Friday.
Lyn

9/26 - There's a company called Royal Plus Disaster Kleenup. A gal at the city gave me there card. Matt, owner, came over last evening at 6:30 to give quote. Saw we already had mold growing and said we need containment NOW. Pulled his crews off other jobs and by 9:30 p.m. had the lower level sealed off from upstairs and had carpet removed. There are a lot of boxes to go thru, lot will have to be thrown out, the rest will have to be wiped down with clorax or Lysol before coming upstairs. Have a Pod delivered tomorrow to put stuff in while drywall is removed. Can't get a dumpster until Tuesday. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes.
Lyn


We thought we were high and dry on our mountain side. When we left Canada we went to Kansas to visit DH's family. The security guy that checks the house said we were Ok, that was the 15th. But sometime between then and Monday we had water seep in, about 2 inches deep. We got back to Colorado on Saturday, but waited to come up because we had business to handle on Monday. Security guy emailed Monday evening and told us he found water in lower level. Lower level is my sewing room, a 3/4 bath, pantry and garage. The water is gone in some places in the garage. The carpet in my sewing room is holding a lot of water. It could be much worse, some people have lost everything.

It's not easy getting up the mountain. It took us 2 1/2 hours from the RV garage, when normally it's under an hour. It could have taken a lot longer, but I called a friend up here and asked which roads they were getting in and out on. Found out there's a road out of Boulder, called Sunshine Canyon. Took it to Gold Hill, then up Gold Hill Rd. to Hwy 72, then Hwy 7 which is also known as the Peak to Peak Hwy. Sunshine & Gold Hill are dirt roads. Sure glad we own 4 wheel drive vehicles. Maryz the next time you come visit your sister, have her take you on this tour.

Damage in my sewing room. I had my embroidery unit to my Bernina 440 in it's case, along with the old computer that has the software and designs. Sitting on end, on the floor. I won't know if it's Ok until I get it to my sewing machine repair guy. I have a couple of featherweight cases wet. I have an old hand crank machine in the wood coffin case, case it wet. Was too upset to look inside. My Mom hand embroidered a Santa picture for me, years ago, and Dad made the wood frame. There is water stain half way up the picture. Anyone know how I could clean it?

HELP. I have a roll of Warm & Natural batting (8 yds or so)that was standing on end. It has mildewed some up about 18 inches. I don't know if I should try and wash it or cut off the wet or what. Any suggestions would be appreciated. My fabric is all Ok. Furniture is iffy.

Garage is so full of stuff, all pre me. It's all DH's and he's been in this house since 1983. It will be a mess to clear out. The pantry has boxes of freeze dried food that are wet, but I know the food is in plastic or cans.

HELP. Any suggestion for dealing with mildew would be appreciated. And has anyone every used ServePro to clean up and repair a mess like this? Yesterday I went to the grocery store and saw a ServePro truck, so I talked to the guys and they came right over and gave us an estimate.

Hope we can get this done in less than a month. DSIL and I are to go to Houston, she and hubby are coming to Texas for a week. The guys will fish and we will shop.

DH just left to go down to the end of the street to the Porta Potty. Yeh, we are in a 'No Flush' zone. City has no idea how long it will take to fix sewer line. So much of Fish Creek Rd. is washed out and that's where the pipes are. They say we can take showers & do laundry, 'gray water' is Ok.

Lyn

[Quilter7]

I am so sorry for the loss of your things. The embroidered item from your Mom might be cleaned with RetroClean. They have a web site which will explain the use of their product: www.retroclean.com '>www.retroclean.com I have no other ideas to help. Prayers for recovery!
Carol

[fabricgirl]

Lynn so sorry to here about your house I will keep you in my prayers.

Lois

[MainelyMe]

My heart goes out to you! You seem to be handling things wonderfully though. I doubt I would do as well.
Serve-Pro does an excellent job around here. My sister in law had to use the for water damage and so did a friend of mine, and they both were impressed with everything they did. You especially want them to get the mold and mildew out. It can cause all kinds of health problems if you don't. I know that they address those issues.
I think if I were you, I would cut off the 18 inches or so of batting that were water damaged, cut the rest into usable sizes and wash and dry it. It should be okay to use after that. JMHO
Good luck to you. I hope it all works out okay in the end.
Take care, Joan

[Becca]

Lynn So sorry to hear of your house & damage.I have no first hand knowledge but know several people in developmeant here have used Ser-Pro.Praying you can get help soon....Becca

[grammiequilts]

Lynn so sorry sbout this,,,,I used Serv Pro and they were fantastic....I had the ceiling come down in the spare from water out of the Ac unit in the attic. they did a fantastic job////

I will pray that your homeowners takes care of everything,,,,I would ask the serv pro guys about cleaning any of the stuff that is mildewed. I would claim the batting as damaged and not try to wash it...i never had goos luck washing batting...

[Ittybittygma]

I just found this thread tonight. Guess I missed it earlier today. So sorry to hear about all the loss and what you are going thru. Praying that the insurance will cover your losses and help you get your lives back together.

No, I did not know it floods on mountain tops. Hope you can fix that little santa pc that your mom and dad made for you. I have no idea how to get mildew out either. We had a basement flooded once in KCMO and ended up throwing lots of things away.

Rod took the rug up in bedroom and hung on line, hosed it down, and let it dry in the sunshine. Our son's bedroom was down there. WE laughed because there was candy floating all over in the water. He had saved and hidden a lot of Halloween candy under his bed so his sisters wouldn't find it and eat it. So, no one ate it. LOL

Sending lots of hugs your way, dear friend. Wish I could come and help with the cleanup. Sorry you have to really trot down the street to use the porta-potty. We can all at least cheer you on and pray for you. Take care and keep us posted on your progress. May God bless you in the midst of your troubles today and all your tomorrows too.

Hugs and love across the soggy miles between us. Shirley Mae

[Ittybittygma]

Hello again. I just used BING and put in "cleaning mildew out of fabric" and did a search. Lots of things popped up but ehow.com seemed to have some of the best ideas. Check it out. Hope you can find something that works. Or call a professional cleaning company and just ask how to get it out of fabric.

Good luck. May God provide for all your needs as you clean up from the flood. So sorry you have to deal with all this when you thought everything was ok. Maybe best you didn't know. You would just worry and can't do anything from far away anyway.

Take care. Again, love and hugs to you and DH. Hope you didn't lose too many things. Shirley Mae

[QuiltGram8]

so sorry, Lyn, for all you have ahead. One month doesn't seem like enough time, unless you can hire some help.

Boy, what a shock, when you thought your house was OK. All this time you thought it was just going to be the challenge of getting up the mountain to your house. Yeeks!! I just can't imagine all that you have to sort through. Good Luck!!

Velda

[purrfect-lady]

LYN, I'm so saddened to hear of all the damage! I do hope you can get things cleaned. You would just not think of being in flood danger, living on a mountain top! You might ask your cleaners about best way to deal with stains. I've been up through Gold Hill and around that area, but it was a very long time ago. Next time we're in town, I think we need to take a tour. Would love to look you up sometime, but you are never there! I hope Houston works out for you. I won't be there this year. But Cindy will be - at noon - at our 'usual table' in the dining hall.

Hugs, girlfriend!

mary z