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+-- Thread: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet (/showthread.php?tid=7112594)
Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - Guest - 10-05-2015
My town got almost twenty inches of rain over the weekend, most of which fell Saturday night. The volume and duration of the rain was frightening. It was heavier than I have ever seen in my 71 years, and it went on without letup for many hours. It was sobering. The NAtional Weather Service has designated the aftermath a Thousand Year Flood.
I woke up Sunday morning to 4" of water in my basement shop, a modest amount considering the volume that fell from the sky and the terrible flooding many in my town have experienced, but enough to make a real mess. My house was built in 1934. The water came through the old basemnt walls. My shop is in a new basement section we built when we bought the house 25 years ago and connected to the old basement by a corridor. The shop basement has been watertight. I've never had water in my shop before this weekend.
I started sweeping the water out of the shop door where it goes into a sump in my back yard, but I wasn't keeping up with the inflow. I switched to vacuuming with my shop vac and that worked better. After a couple of hours, I caught up and was able to keep abreast of the inflow. I kept it up until 11:00 P.M. when the flow slowed and I felt pretty good about leaving it for the night. This morning I went down and found that the water had not risen and the shop floor was still pretty damp, but not inundated.
I have always kept my tools well oiled and waxed. This afternoon, there was no evidence or rust developing, except in a couple of places where I had splashed water on machine tables. A little WD 40 and steel wool took care of those. Otherwise, there is no rust developing or any other apparent damage to my tools. I've never had much of a rust problm in my basement shop. I've never given it much thought, but now I'm pretty convinced that my obsessive cleaning, oiling and waxing my cast iron and steel tools is the reason. Because of that, I dodged the bullet from a thousand year flood. I am a happy and relieved camper.
Hank
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - jteneyck - 10-05-2015
Glad to hear it was no worse than that Hank. I've just been watching the floods in Columbia on the news and it sure looks awful for many folks. Very sad.
If you don't have one, you might want to get a dehumidifier and run it for a couple of weeks to get things really dried out. I live in WNY and have one in my basement set at 55% RH, year round.
John
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - AHill - 10-05-2015
Man, that is scary. Glad you were able to keep things more or less intact. My father is a retired weatherman in his 80's. We used to live in Myrtle Beach. He said in his entire life, he'd never seen anything like that either, and that includes living in the tropics with monsoon seasons, and enduring 4-5 hurricanes/typhoons. Dad said that every time he thinks he's seen it all, God does something to remind him he hasn't.
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - Guest - 10-05-2015
Thanks, John. A dehumidifier is a great idea. I don't have one, but now may be the time to get one.
Allan, it was truly a sobering event. I lived through Hurricane Hugo and thought that had to be the worst. I was wrong. Your dad is right: Nature always has something in her bag of tricks that will leave you speechless.
Hank
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - mbw - 10-05-2015
What a nightmare, the tv coverage is frightening. Good luck
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - KC7CN - 10-05-2015
I feel your pain! Glad to see you're dealing with the problem. Have seen some devastating news broadcasts about all your rain. I'm sure you're grateful that you have been able to handle the situation. Prayers for you and all who need them during these trying times.
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - Admiral - 10-05-2015
Hank, I'm so glad you are ok, it could have been much worse.
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - Phil Thien - 10-05-2015
Happy for your good news, Hank. 20+ inches of rain is incomprehensible to me. That could form a lake in pretty short order.
Re: Thanks to oil and wax, I dodged a big bullet - fredhargis - 10-06-2015
I was wondering about any members who may live in that area as I watched the horrifying news clips. Glad you have minimal damage...and wish the best for all who others suffering through this.