Montgomery County, MD
Flooded basement & mold help in Wheaton, MD 20902
Wheaton is full of 1950s brick ramblers and Cape Cods, most with a basement that has been a rec room, a laundry or a rental at some point. When it floods or turns musty, we dry it and clean it up.
Wheaton, Glenmont, Kemp Mill and Glenfield homeowners can reach JEC Restoration at (202) 989-3053, any hour, for flooded basements, burst pipes, mold, smoke damage and sewage backups. We work throughout the area, from the blocks around Westfield Wheaton to the houses near Brookside Gardens, and our technicians come up from the Landover headquarters.
Where do 1950s Wheaton ramblers and Cape Cods let water in?
Wheaton filled in quickly after World War II, and street after street holds the same two house types: the one-story brick rambler with a full basement, and the story-and-a-half Cape Cod with dormers on the front. Both usually sit on cinder block foundations. The basements tend to have a laundry corner with a utility sink, a gas water heater and furnace, and a floor drain, plus a rec room someone finished with paneling, drop ceiling tiles and carpet. Many have been turned into separate living space over the years.
These houses are now around seventy years old, and their plumbing shows it. Original galvanized supply pipes narrow and pinhole from the inside, cast-iron drains crack, and the supply lines to washers and water heaters have often been replaced only when they failed. Block walls let groundwater through after long rains, and the original clay drain tile, where there is any, has usually clogged. Cape Cods add the upstairs knee walls, where a bathroom tucked under the roof can leak into the space behind the wall for months.
Most-called services in Wheaton
Flooded Basement Cleanup
Flooded basement cleanup removes water from a below-grade space, cleans and sanitizes what it touched, takes out finishes that cannot be saved, and dries the slab, walls and framing.
How we handle it
Burst Pipe Cleanup
Burst pipe cleanup deals with the water a split supply or heating line leaves inside walls, floors and ceilings: opening the wall at the break, extracting water, removing soaked insulation, and drying the cavities and the rooms below.
How we handle it
Basement Waterproofing
Basement waterproofing means stopping or managing the water that reaches a basement from outside: through wall cracks, mortar joints, the cove joint at the base of the wall, or a clogged stairwell drain.
How we handle it
Basement Mold Removal
Basement mold removal cleans or removes growth on foundation walls, framing, finished drywall, carpet and stored contents below grade, then corrects the moisture that caused it.
How we handle it
Dehumidifier Installation
A whole-basement dehumidifier is a fixed unit that pulls moisture from the air in a basement or crawl space and drains it continuously through a hose or condensate pump.
How we handle itHow does water reach Wheaton basements from the parks, the creek and the sky?
Northwest Branch runs along the east side of the area, and Sligo Creek begins in Wheaton before heading south toward Silver Spring. Wheaton Regional Park, with Brookside Gardens inside it, takes in a good share of the local runoff on its wooded slopes. On the lower streets near those valleys, the ground stays saturated for days after a soaking, and basements there stay damp longer.
Summer storms are the sharper risk. Water pours off roofs and driveways, overloads gutters, and floods window wells set into the side of the foundation. A clogged exterior basement stairwell drain sends it under the door. In winter, frozen pipes split in crawl spaces under rear additions and in the exterior walls of finished basements, especially in houses where insulation was never added. In the humid months, the cool basement air in 20902 condenses on block walls, and mold follows on paneling and cardboard.
Typical calls we get from Wheaton
Window well flood into a rambler basement
A summer storm fills a window well faster than its drain can handle, and water pours through the glass into the paneled den. We vacuum up the water, haul out soaked pad and the lower drywall, run dehumidifiers against the block wall, and suggest a well cover and a cleared drain.
Galvanized pipe pinhole behind paneling
An old galvanized supply pipe leaks slowly behind basement paneling until the carpet along the wall turns dark. We remove the paneling, dry the framing and slab, and check for mold before the plumber replaces the pipe run.
Cape Cod knee wall leak from an upstairs bathroom
A shower valve in a dormer bathroom leaks into the space behind the knee wall, staining the ceiling below. We open the knee wall, dry the floor system and insulation, and remove any moldy materials.
Musty basement apartment with no visible leak
Tenants in a basement unit notice a musty smell every summer and spots on stored items. We test humidity and moisture, trace growth to the paper face of the drywall on the side facing the cold block, remove it under containment, and size a dehumidifier.
What does a cleanup look like in a Wheaton house with a basement rental?
Many Wheaton basements are rented out or used by extended family, so a leak often affects someone's home, not just a storage room. We plan the work around the occupant: the source gets stopped first, then wet materials come out and drying starts with equipment placed so exits stay clear. If the water was clean, the space can often stay in use while it dries. If it came up through a floor drain, we close it off until cleaning is done.
Most streets have driveways, which makes equipment easy to bring in, and the side or rear basement door gives us a straight path out for wet carpet and drywall. For storm-related water, our basement flood cleanup and waterproofing work go hand in hand. When the problem is an old pipe, see our burst pipe cleanup, and for musty basements without a flood, a properly sized dehumidifier usually does more than any cleaning product.
Typical homes in this part of the DC area
Nearby areas we also cover
Questions from Wheaton homeowners
My Wheaton rambler has its original galvanized pipes. Should I worry about leaks?
Galvanized steel pipes corrode from the inside, so after seventy years many are narrowed and thin. Low water pressure, rusty water and small leaks at fittings are signs they are near the end. A plumber can replace them in sections. If one fails before that, shut off the main valve, then call (202) 989-3053 and we will get drying started before the water spreads under paneling and carpet.
Why does water come through my Wheaton basement window every time it storms?
The window well is filling up. Most wells have a gravel bottom or a small drain, and both clog with leaves and silt over time. When the well fills above the window sill, water pours through. Cleaning the well, checking that the drain works, adding a clear cover, and pointing downspouts away from that corner usually solves it.
Is a musty smell in a Wheaton basement a sign of mold?
Often, yes. The smell comes from mold or bacteria growing on damp materials, usually paneling, carpet, drywall or cardboard. It does not always mean a leak; high summer humidity is enough in many basements. Mold can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in sensitive people, so we find the source with a moisture meter and remove affected materials when needed.
Water or mold trouble in Wheaton?
Call JEC Restoration any time. We answer 24/7 and talk through what you are seeing before anyone touches a wall.