Standing water in a Prior Lake home can come from the lake, a city main or a failure indoors, and the extraction crew treats all three the same way: get the bulk out fast, then find what soaked in.
Where the water comes from
The 2014 flood lifted the lake 6 feet, and a six-inch main on Green Heights Trail sent a foot of water into one basement in February 2019. Indoors, a split hose or a failed tank does the same job on a smaller scale. The source matters because it sets the water category, which decides what can be saved. Water also travels, moving under baseboards, through floor cracks and down to the level below, so the crew checks well beyond the edge of the visible stain.
- Clean water from supply pipes and appliances
- Gray water from sump pumps and washers
- Black water from sewage, lake overflow and floodwater
How the water comes out
Truck-mounted units handle large areas and carry the water outside through long hoses. Submersible pumps clear anything deep enough to float a cord. Hand wands finish edges, stairs and tight rooms. Carpet is lifted and floated off the pad when the pad can stay dry, and wet pad is cut out when it cannot. Speed matters because pad and wall bottoms begin absorbing at once and hardwood can start to cup within days. Both truck-mounted and portable equipment are on hand, so a stairwell or an upstairs room is no obstacle.
What happens after extraction
Extraction removes the bulk, but moisture stays in pad, subfloor, baseboards and wall bottoms. A meter and thermal camera trace what is still wet, and the crew sets up structural drying equipment to match. Skipping that step is how a dry-looking floor turns musty a week later.