Thread: All my decorations are ruined...

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All or most of my Halloween decorations are ruined... I'm going to have to throw out almost everything... We had a bad storm here recently and flooding, and my halloween props, decoration and costumes were all stored in the basement in plastic bins. I thought the bins would protect them, but apparently the water level rose high enough that it floated and tipped a number of plastic bins, including the ones with all of my Halloween decorations and props inside, and the dirty water got into them (several boxes of family Christmas decorations were also ruined.)

I am still looking through them to see if anything can be salvaged... Some things which are not porous or made out of fabric may be able to be disinfected and saved but most of the decorations and props which I have been collecting over the years are ruined. Most likely anything electronic will have been wrecked due to water getting into it... I couldn't afford to buy a lot of props so I had been buying smaller amounts of things each year so I could slowly build up my collection, and now it's all down the drain... I can't even afford to buy any new props this year or replace my things which were wrecked... I am so upset... Many of the things I had collected were either one of a kind or they are no longer being produced so I couldn't replace them even if I could afford it.

So sorry to hear this HauntedHorror. I can't even being to imagine how upset I would be if this happened to my stuff! Livid doesn't even begin to describe it. God only knows the sacrifices we all make to buy the items (or materials that make up) the stuff in our collections.

Jim

Allow me to be the first to say im sorry. Whether it be theft or mother nature it is always terrible to have the things you have worked hard for taken away from you.

My heart goes out to you...
We all know the time and money that is invested in what we do. Remember your spirit can never be ruined!

How awful! I'm so sorry!

Wow, I'm very sorry to hear about all the stuff you lost (from both holidays) My sister lives up in Steger, IL, and she got 3 1/2' of water in her basement, so I understand you guys got stompedI! t's funny how it's the smaller, supposedly 'least important' things that really tear your heart out. I feel for ya!

Yeah, we got hit bad... I didn't even mention the HUGE tree limb that fell in our backyard from our neighbor's tree... It fell so that the broken end hooked the power line to our house on the way down, so it was hanging down with the power line stretched down in an arc on it...it's amazing that it didn't snap! Since we still had power it took the power company a long time to fix it because a lot of people were actually without power.

I guess people might think it's weird that I'm the most upset about my Halloween stuff, it's nice to find people who get it! A lot of stuff in the basement got wrecked, the floors and walls will need to be totally disinfected and the power down there got messed up so the washer/dryer are not working properly...but I don't care so much about that stuff as about my poor props and decorations!

I just had one idea though-- I just thought of this, I am considering rinsing off some of the unsalvageable decorations and then putting them out in the front yard... I never usually put most of my props out in the front for Halloween because I'm afraid of them being stolen or getting messed up by the weather, but now that they are pretty much wrecked anyway that doesn't really matter... I probably still have to throw them away after Halloween because they could grow mold or bacteria if I tried to store them but maybe I can at least get one last use out of the stuff that I can't save... :/

I'm so sorry, that stinks. Will you be making an insurance claim for the damage to your belongings and your house?

You can let the stuff dry and have a bonfire. Call it a retirement with dignity.

Don't throw out the electronics!

Contrary to popular belief, water does not always ruin electronics. Take the things apart and clean them. Spray them with alcohol and clean them off with a rag. Dry them with a hairdryer to be sure there is no moisture in them when they are turned on.

They should be ok. The problem is if they are on when they get wet. Other than that, if parts are not rusted, and there circuit boards are clean so that nothing is shorting anything out, they should be fine.

I have restored TV sets that were underwater (Not plugged in at the time) and they worked fine afterwards. Just never try to fire them up until you are sure all the water and guck is out, and they are dry.

Sorry to hear about the loss. I know I would not take it well!

halloweenbob. my buddy got an amplifier out of a car that was pulled out of a lake and it worked fime for years.