Evansville · Guide

Sandbags and a wet basement are the heaviest lifting of the year

Evansville sits on the Ohio, and living on a river means a category of work that inland towns simply do not have. Sandbags, pumps, furniture up from a basement, and afterwards everything that got wet carried back out again. It is the heaviest and most awkward lifting a lot of people do all year, and it happens fast because the water sets the deadline.

Wet things weigh far more than dry things

A sandbag is roughly thirty to forty pounds and it is a floppy, uneven shape that will not stay where you put it. Waterlogged carpet, boxes and furniture are dramatically heavier than the same items dry, and the weight shifts while you carry them.

That mismatch, expecting one weight and getting another, is a classic way to hurt a back.

• Test the weight before committing to the lift. A short tug tells you a lot.
• Keep it close to your body. Distance multiplies the load far more than weight does.
• Two people on anything soaked. Wet furniture is not a solo job however light it was when dry.

The stairs are the dangerous part

Basement stairs mean you cannot square your feet to the load and you are twisting to see the next step. Put the heavy thing down at the landing rather than carrying it through the turn.

Haste is the real hazard

Nobody is hurt by the first sandbag. They are hurt on the last one, tired, wet, cold, in a hurry. Fatigue plus haste plus an awkward shape is the mechanism, and the weight is usually unremarkable.

When it is worth talking to somebody

Aching for a few days after a flood weekend is expected. Worth a conversation with a qualified provider: pain that came on suddenly during a lift, anything travelling down a leg, numbness or tingling, weakness in a leg or foot, or any loss of bladder or bowel control, which needs urgent care.

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