Can a flooded furnace be used again after it dries out?
Sometimes, but only after a qualified technician has inspected it. Water inside a furnace can damage the control board, the burner and the gas connections in ways that are not obvious from the outside. A dried furnace is not safe to run until that check is done.
A furnace that was under water is treated as a safety question first and a repair question second. The technician checks the gas connections, the burner, the blower, the controls and the wiring, and looks for corrosion and silt inside the cabinet.
Where the water stopped below the controls and the burner and the unit has been cleaned and dried, the technician may restart it after the checks. Where water reached the controls or the burner, replacement is often the safer choice. The decision belongs to the technician who inspects the unit, and it is made with the maker's guidance in mind.
Should I replace my water heater after a flood?
That depends on how high the water reached, whether the base and connections were submerged and what the technician finds on inspection. A water heater that was under water often needs replacement, and the decision is made on the inspection rather than on a fixed rule.
A water heater tank is designed to hold water, but its base, controls and connections are not built to sit in flood water. Corrosion and silt can attack the burner or the element, and the gas or electrical connections can fail after a restart.
Ask the technician for a written assessment, and keep it with the insurer's correspondence. The assessment states whether the unit was safe to restart, what was checked and what is recommended.
What affects the cost of appliance damage work?
The number of appliances, how high the water reached on each unit, the age and type of each appliance and the amount of cleanup around them all change the work. The price is explained and approved on site before any appliance is moved or disconnected.
A single furnace that stood in a few inches of water takes a short visit, with the floor cleaned and dried around it. A basement with a furnace, a water heater, a washer and a dryer, all in water, takes more visits and more readings, and each appliance needs its own note.
Moving or disconnecting an appliance is a step the crew explains before it is taken. Some units are heavy, and some connections are gas, so the crew may need the utility or a technician to disconnect them. Those steps are part of the plan.
What should I do before the technician arrives?
Keep away from the appliance if it is in standing water, do not touch the controls, and do not try to start it. Turn off the gas at the appliance's shutoff if you can do so safely, and photograph the water line on each unit before anything is moved.
If you smell gas, leave the house, do not switch lights or appliances on or off, and call the gas utility from outside. Do not stay in a room where you can smell gas. That is the first priority before any cleanup or inspection.
If the water is not near any appliance and the power is off at the panel, you can move items up off the floor, remove the rugs and clear the area around the unit. Do not open an appliance's panel yourself.
What does my insurer need to know about a flooded appliance?
Tell the insurer which appliances were in the water, how high the water reached and whether each one was inspected. Keep the crew's list, the technician's assessment and the photographs, since the insurer generally needs them to decide on repair or replacement.
The insurer may want the appliance itself, or its serial number and the photograph of its water line, before it is discarded. Ask before you remove or dispose of any unit.
The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner handles consumer complaints about claims. The insurer and your policy decide what applies to an appliance that was damaged by flood water.
