An alternative sandbag has saved homeowners and businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds by mitigating escapes of water inside their properties.
FloodSax is the only alternative sandbag in the world designed to soak up water inside buildings and it’s certainly been doing the job in the UK.
In their dry state FloodSax are very thin with a large surface area and an absorbent gelling polymer inside designed to soak up escapes of water, drips, leaks and internal floods, even in the most inaccessible places such as beneath floorboards as well as underneath sinks, pipes, radiators and boilers.
To transform them into instant sandless sandbags, simply immerse them fully in water, and the gelling polymer inside absorbs and retains the water to expand and become an instant alternative sandbag. Several can then be used to build a protective barrier outside to prevent water getting into a property or divert it down drains.
But it’s the internal use which has been a gamechanger by preventing highly expensive internal water damage which is costing the UK insurance industry millions of pounds in claims every year.
One of the strangest examples of FloodSax saving the day came when monsoon-like summer rain started to pour inside a vast warehouse in the north east of England on a Saturday afternoon when no-one was there.
The warehouse supervisor was at home and had a sixth sense that all was not right after such a massive deluge, so checked the CCTV systems remotely and could see water pouring into the 40,000sq ft building.
He said: “It was raining so hard the downpipes and drains simply couldn’t cope, and the water was then backing up the drainpipes and finding its way into the building.
“It was then starting to cover the floor inside, but we are prepared for this happening so all our stock is on pallets which means everything is at least four inches off the floor.”
The water was quickly an inch deep in some places but the danger was it would then seep into the offices and wreck the company’s electricals, potentially causing thousands of pounds damage.
The warehouse was equipped with FloodSax so the supervisor quickly deployed them to prevent any water getting into the office.
He also used others to stop water flooding out of the drains at ground level and into the building.
“They worked brilliantly,” he said. “I was beginning to panic when I first saw how fast the water was coming in but it was quickly sorted by the FloodSax. They were really good at soaking up the water as it’s not something you can just brush away in a large warehouse. It needs to be soaked up properly.”
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In the end absolutely no stock was damaged during the drama, thanks to a box of around 20 FloodSax which normally retails for around £140.
The supervisor added: “I just can’t believe something so cost-effective can potentially save such costly damage which is normally caused by floodwater.”
The FloodSax are also used by one of the big supermarket chains mainly to soak up water that drips in through leaky roofs or from beneath large refrigerators to prevent the risk of customers and staff slipping and falling.
Another strange case happened when FloodSax saved massive damage to a house after a sudden and somewhat bizarre leak under the kitchen sink.
The house in West Yorkshire has an instant boiling water dispenser unit in the cupboard under the sink which short-circuited, burned out and led to the water leaking from the tap into the cupboard and then seeping out onto the floor.
The owner, Richard, had a pack of FloodSax alternative sandbags ready for such an emergency and immediately deployed them to soak up the water both in the cupboard and on the wood-effect floor.
He said: “We’ve had the FloodSax for a while and kind of knew we’d need to use them at some point as every house has an escape of water or internal flooding emergency at some time or other.
“The FloodSax quickly soaked up all the water, both mitigating the damage and preventing it from spreading further. In fact, the water vanished from the floor so quickly we think they may even have saved parts of it from needing replacing.’’
Churches are particularly vulnerable to flooding. Many churches are notorious for having leaky roofs and windows with the water falling on ancient decorative floors and other priceless fixtures and fittings which have been there for centuries.
FloodSax saved a vintage wooden floor at a church in Durban, South Africa.
The church was badly flooded and worshippers feared their 100-year-old wooden floor had been damaged beyond repair.
But FloodSax saved the day by soaking up the water and the church now has sufficient FloodSax so it’s fully prepared for any future flooding emergencies.