Milwaukee makes a slew of helpful tools for basement flooding.
For the most part, it’s great if your house has a basement — whether it’s unfinished or a full additional, livable floor in your home. If it’s the latter, it can be a great place for a rec room, additional bedrooms, and more, and even if it’s unfinished, basements often offer a ton of extra storage space and are great places to keep your washing machine and dryer. However, owning a basement also means that there’s a possibility you’ll have to deal with flooding at some point — perhaps several times a year depending on geography and the weather.
Just as Milwaukee makes several useful tools to keep on hand during seasonal storms, the popular tool brand also sells equipment that’s just as helpful for a basement filled with standing water. By equipping yourself with these items, you can be better prepared to get rid of that water and dry your basement. It’s important to remember that when dealing with flooded basements you want to put safety first. Electrocution is a risk. If you even suspect a storm might bring imminent flooding, you should take precautions by shutting off the power (and water) while your basement is still dry. That way, when you’re ready, you can deal with the situation as safely as possible.
Here are five Milwaukee tools you’ll want around if you’ve got a flooded basement, based on the feedback of customers who’ve purchased and used them. More information on how these items were evaluated can be found at the end of this list.M18 Transfer Pump
One of your top priorities is going to be to pump the water out of your basement. It can take a long time to naturally drain your basement. If your home is prone to flooding even with moderate rainfall, you should consider investing in a permanent sump pump, perhaps installed by a professional. If this is only an occasional issue, however, Milwaukee makes a fairly inexpensive portable pump that can help move standing water — the M18 Transfer Pump.
Part of Milwaukee’s M18 system of cordless equipment, the pump can run on the same batteries and use the same chargers as hundreds of other tools made by the brand. It’s fairly lightweight, and you can easily move it to the best place for pumping. One Reddit user called it «just what [they] needed» after their basement flooded, and the tool has a solid 4.6 out of 5 overall user rating, based on over 220 Home Depot reviews. Plus, 91% of surveyed customers recommend the product.
The self-priming pump uses ¾-inch brass inlet and outlet connections and generates up to 18 feet of lift and 75 feet of head height. It can move up to 460 gallons per hour and up to 240 gallons on a single charge with an M18 XC5.0 battery. It will also automatically shut off when it’s no longer transferring water to prevent dry pumping. If you’re dealing with more serious flooding, you may want a heavier duty pump, but they can be a lot more expensive, whereas the smaller 18V pump is relatively affordable. Home Depot sells the Milwaukee M18 Transfer Pump for $229.M18 6-gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum
Pumps are great for clearing lots of water, but they tend to leave some residual moisture behind. If you don’t want to wait for these last-puddles-standing to evaporate on their own, you can quickly remove them with Milwaukee’s M18 6-gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum. Based on over 4,600 Home Depot reviews, the tool has a 4.5 out of 5 average customer score, with 82% of customers recommending it after purchase. Despite being cordless, it boasts better performance than corded 3.5-hp models, and can run continuously for over a half hour at max power mode on a single charge or up to 47 minutes at max runtime mode (with an M18 12 Ah battery). The vacuum generates up to 87 cfm and 60 inches of suction.
The tool is equipped with a crush- and twist-resistant hose that has a 1-⅞-inch diameter and can be used with a variety of interchangeable motor heads, tanks, and carts for a range of uses, many of which can be kept within the tool’s integrated accessory storage.
