Our regular columnist, Mom2KG, checks in this month with a slightly wet edition of her blog.

You know that moment in horror movies when the main character realizes something is wrong, horribly wrong? And then there’s a few moments of suspense, while the character has to find out what’s up? Let me tell you, those nail-biting cinematic moments are nothing compared to how you feel when you realize something is wrong, horribly wrong, in your own house, where your children are sleeping, and you have to find out what it is.

About two weeks ago, we were settling into bed and simultaneously smelled something burning. We ran through the house in our pajamas, until we found the cause of the smell. It was not, thankfully, a fire. The burning smell was because the sewer had emptied itself into our basement and shorted out some electrical (what exactly, we’re still not sure). (When I say thankfully, I really mean it. I’m going to tell you about our flood, but a fire would have been devastatingly worse.)

The flood water was actually knee-deep. We have lost our entire, recently-finished basement. Kids’ toys: gone. Furniture: gone. Furnace: damaged. Water heater: completely broken. Appliances: gone. Carpet: bye-bye. Oddly large luggage collection: bon voyage. Fantastic sound system: trash. And more.

Things we learned, and that you can learn from us:

Be safe

Neither of us stepped into the water, realizing it might be charged. No matter how important stuff is to you, or how much it cost, it’s not worth electrocution (or smoke inhalation, in the case of a fire, or whatever). We called in some experts.

Be insured

We got word a day or two after the flood that our particular disaster was indeed covered. Everything (save a $1000 deductible) will be covered (and often, directly by the insurance company, rather than us having to pay and then submit a claim). This would end up costing, at a conservative guess, at least $10,000 – and it’s not coming out of our pockets. So buy insurance for your stuff and pay the premiums.

Know where your important documents are

In this case, the most important document was our insurance policy. My super-organized husband had it in his hands within moments of discovering the flood. Within 10 minutes I had called the 1-800 number and registered a claim. This put us first in line for calls back from our agent the next morning. It was one thing out of the way, and the claim centre was able to provide some helpful advice at the time. Other documents you may want to keep safe from flood and fire (don’t keep things on the basement floor, take it from me) are passports, SIN cards, health documents, birth certificates, and any other “official” documents issued by your bank, the government, and insurance company.

Know what you can’t do

Let me be clear – this was not a wet basement floor. It took professional flood-recovery experts three hours to pump that water out. We called, they came. But first, we asked the insurance company if they had a preferred contractor for us to use. Last thing we wanted was to rack up a huge bill to a contractor that was not going to be reimbursed. We thought to ask – and you should too (some vehicle insurance policies require you to use their preferred towing service, for example).

Take pictures and video

Document everything. We have pictures of how far the water reached (including a time-lapse showing the water rising in the space of minutes), as well as tear-jerker ones like a teddy bear floating on scum-laden sewer water.

Take time to go through everything

Again, document. Get friends and family to come help you sort through everything. You lost it, you insured it – you can claim it! Put together an Excel spreadsheet and don’t throw anything out until you’re done. Details matter – names of books, suggested prices, model and serial numbers.

Claim everything

Don’t toss aside some bedraggled knick-knack and forgo claiming its value. We lost about 20 gift bags, but at a minimum of $2-$7 each, claiming them is well worth it. Insurance is meant to make you whole from a disaster; don’t leave money on the table.

Keep records

Again, we were lucky this was a flood and not a fire. I have no idea how families are supposed to remember everything they had in order to make a claim for fire coverage. Once we get this claim settled, we’re going to make, and keep safe, detailed records of everything, from furniture to jewellery to DVDs. Visit it on a twice-yearly basis at least.