Advice sought on hurricane flooded safe

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  • kurzninja

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    Feb 7, 2018
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    LaPlace, LA
    I bought a Fortress safe from Tractor Supply around 2018. The safe sat in my house happily doing it's job until Hurricane Ida hit. I've never removed the shipping "feet" from it so it sat a few inches higher off the ground than it normally would, but I received about 8" of water in my house for the hurricane. Even elevated, my safe got some water inside it. The carpet lining at the bottom was wet and eventually there was mold growing around the bottom on the carpet. I cleaned and sprayed the crap out of it and the mold is gone. I even had Stanley Steamer clean it when they came to do the rest of my house. There is no mold left that I can see, BUT.... the inside of the safe just has a nasty sharp smell that I can't seem to get rid of.

    I'm not sure what to do with it now. A few people told me to just rip out the carpet and MDF on the walls and clean it out but I'm not really sure how I'd go about replacing that. I hate to just throw it out because other than the smell, the safe seems to be perfectly fine structurally and functionally. I've also considered the possibility that the water has compromised the structure of the safe somehow in a way that I can't see. I just don't know what to do with it.

    Does anyone have any advice? Or would anyone be interested in buying and fixing up this safe themselves? I think I paid about $400 for it originally but if someone would offer me $200 for it I'd take it. I can provide pictures if anyone is interested.
     

    twinin

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    May 5, 2017
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    Most safes come with a lifetime warranty to replace the safe in events like. Not sure about that brand though
     

    kurzninja

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    Most safes come with a lifetime warranty to replace the safe in events like. Not sure about that brand though

    I'm pretty sure most safes don't have warranties covering water/flood unless it is a waterproof safe which are quite expensive and only cover submersion up to a certain depth and length of time. This is most definitely not one of those safes lol
     

    shrxfn

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    If it was rated as fireproof it probably has drywall in it and that may have mold on it now and that is the source of the smell. I would rip out the insides and replace it or at least the drywall.
     

    dantheman

    I despise ARFCOM
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    I'm pretty sure most safes don't have warranties covering water/flood unless it is a waterproof safe which are quite expensive and only cover submersion up to a certain depth and length of time. This is most definitely not one of those safes lol

    I don't know about most safes but my Cannon safe went underwater in the 2016 flood and they shipped me a brand new one .
     

    shotgunjim

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    May 20, 2016
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    My safe was totally covered in 2016 flood and took out all the sheetrock and carpet and removed the electronic lock. Replaced sheet rock and carpet. Water will walk up walls of sheetrock and mold so I would remove carpet and sheetrock starting at bottom until your sure no moisture. I went back with mechanical lock as some of electronic locks were having issues. Good luck. jim
     

    Akajun

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    Apr 10, 2008
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    I’ve redone three flood safes that were given to me, I wouldn’t pay for one though.
    First thing if electronic , replace the lock system , the keypad and the locking bolt/ servo
    The damp will ruin them. I replaced them all with combo locks so that’s no longer an issue.
    Next as stated before, the interior is just 5/8* (not 1/2*) Sheetrock and outdoor/ marine carpet.
    Most cheaper safes have 1 layer, I went back with two.
    Cut the top piece first and make it a tight fit, then use the side pieces to lock it in, then the floor piece, repeat with the second layer which you will cover with carpet.
    On the carpeted pieces, use good carpet glue and give your pieces enough clearance to fit with the carpet.
    It’s a messy job but all mine came out fine.
     

    kurzninja

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    Feb 7, 2018
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    LaPlace, LA
    That's great advice and instructions, Akajun. Much appreciated. Is the sheetrock normally attached to the interior walls of the safe using a glue or something like that, or is it just held in by snugness? Also, did you attach all of the carpet to the sheetrock pieces before installing into the interior?
     

    Akajun

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    That's great advice and instructions, Akajun. Much appreciated. Is the sheetrock normally attached to the interior walls of the safe using a glue or something like that, or is it just held in by snugness? Also, did you attach all of the carpet to the sheetrock pieces before installing into the interior?

    I did mine with snugness but the factory uses a couple dabs of glue, youll see it when you rip out your sheetrock. Ive never had a problem. ON the final Layer of sheetrock or the layer of sheet rock, yes I put it on before.
    You cut out your sheetrock to fit give yourself an extra 1/2 of clearance for the carpet and cut the carpet to extend about 3' past the sheetrock in all directions. glue the carpet on one face and lay it face down on the floor for about an hour. THen put it on sawhorses, cut the corners so it will fold over flat. Then glue the other side of the sheetrock and clamp it with spring clamps holding down scrap wood or metal strips.
    Like I said its messy work, carpet glue is messy and hard to get off. its slow and time consuming which is why I never would pay for a flooded safe to re do. That said I spent about $100 to $200 per safe to redo them, locks included but easily spent about 20-30 hrs.
    Also when you clean it out. you will find rust and mold inside and you will find the underside of the safe was not painted. Get a steel wire welding brush and brush the loose rust out then hit it with some rust stop paint, it doesnt take much to kill it. WIpe the inside down with Mold armor too, no bleach, it will rust the metal again.
    ON the underside of the safe, I scrub the rust loose then coat with a clear varnish or paint. THat way if your sliding it across the floor or carpet , the paint wont come off or stain the floor.
     

    noob

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    Mar 18, 2008
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    maybe run an ozone machine on the inside of it? I let my friend borrow my ozone machine, he said his wife's car had the carpet get wet and smell moldy. The smell is now gone
     

    noob

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    That's a good idea too, I'll give this a try if I can do it safely.

    Just close the door, run it for 1 hour and leave the house for a while. Come back in 1-2 hours, Open the safe up, run the AC to make the air move, and open a few windows if you can and leave for another hour or two. Should be aired out enough for you to come back in.
     

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