Vinyl plank flooring after a basement flood

[hominamad]

Hi all - was hoping I could get some advice on what to do in this situation. A couple of years ago I self-installed this product in part of my basement: Home Decorators Collection Warm Cherry 7.5 in. L x 47.6 in. W Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring (24.74 sq. ft. / case) 44415

The vinyl was installed on top of some crappy old thin vinyl tiles, which is installed directly on concrete.

A little over two weeks ago, my sump pump failed in a big storm, and I ended up getting around 3 inches of water in that room. I was able to get rid of all the water 2 days after the flood, and immediately started running 2 dehumidifiers in the room. The humidity in the room has been under 30% since then.

It is now 15 days later, and the basement has seemed completely dry and back to normal for almost this whole time. I don't smell any signs of mold at all and everything appears to be well. I'm trying to figure out if I'm in the clear now, or if I need to pull up my floor. I'm really hoping I don't need to pull it up because it took me weeks to install on my own (and was a huge pain!). How do I know if I'm good?

There's one part of the floor that is accessible, and I stuck my arm in as far as I could and didn't feel any moisture. I was thinking about removing a tile in the middle of the floor to test there, but I was having a hard time without totally ruining the floor.

Should I just assume I'm good, but be on the lookout for a mold smell? What would be the risk of not pulling it up at this stage? Could mold start to grow without my realizing it? This is obviously the biggest concern I have.

Thanks for any advice here!

 

[joecaption]

Simple answer is, yes there's a real danger that mold or fungus may grow under that flooring.

 

[hominamad]

Thanks - I realize it's a risk but my question is more if I should pull out the whole floor even though I don't smell or see any signs of any mold yet. Could I just wait until I smell something and then take action?

 

[oldognewtrick]

Thanks - I realize it's a risk but my question is more if I should pull out the whole floor even though I don't smell or see any signs of any mold yet. Could I just wait until I smell something and then take action?

You've heard the old saying...an ounce of prevention = a pound of cure.

 

[bud16415]

If the water was just clean rain water and not sewage or bad looking water and that you have the area now dry I think I would wait and see and keep running the dehumidifiers.



I know there are mold removal remediation but I don’t know if there are any steps to take proactively to stop any that might get started. You might call some experts and ask if there is something you can wash it with that might help.



Keep it dry down there and my thoughts are you will be ok and if not ripping it up later will be mostly the same as ripping it up now. Spend some money and get a battery backup for the sump.

By the way I’m no expert on this subject just a normal homeowner.