In this post I am going to personally review two popular flood prevention sandbags: Quik Response Self Expanding Sandbags and Quick Dam Flood Bags.
I Dove Deep Into Each Product To Evaluate The Following:
- Cost/value
- Water absorption
- Ease of use
- Durability
- Accessibility
- Design
- Ease of disposal
- and more
So, make sure you read this article until the end. That way you can make the right choice for you.
Product Overview
Before I get into the review itself, I want to quickly let you know some important information on each product…
Since I live towards the southern part of Brooklyn in New York City, I occasionally experience basement leaks and water pooling next to the foundation of my home during heavy rainfall. However, I experienced the most damage to my home in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City.
Because I became tired of using pile of rags in the basement and water getting into my garage when the water pools next to the foundation of my house, I went with Quick Dam’s Sandless Sandbags.
Overall, I was pretty happy with it. But I quickly realized that while the sandless sandbags did absorb the water, it unfortunately came with a huge mess which attracts a bunch of annoying flies…
Overall, I was pretty happy with it. But I quickly realized that while the sandless sandbags did absorb the water, it unfortunately came with a huge mess which attracts a bunch of annoying flies…
When I was tired of the heavy rainfall getting into my basement, I ordered Quick Dam Sandless Sandbags off of Amazon (arrived in 2 days, thanks to my Amazon Prime account).
When I first started to use them, I was impressed with how much water they could absorb.
However, They Were Difficult To Use.
The absorbent material inside the bag shifts and the material must be evenly spread out before getting the bag wet and activated with water. Once they are activated and wet, they became even more difficult to move around since the saturated materials inside the bag shift. I had to manually shift the absorbent material from the outside of the bag by hand. The bags by then already became slimy and the exterior actually disintegrated quickly. The absorbent material ended up escaping the bag leaving a huge mess.
Not to mention, the drying process was lengthy and inconvenient. Quick Dam Sandless Sandbags do not dry out quickly and would take more than two months to dry out flat again. During the process of drying, the bags remained moist which attracts flies and even left a residue when drying. I also struggled with finding where to store them as they would dry.
I was tired of dealing with the wet and slimy sandbags that would take forever to dry so I decided to look for another option and discovered Quik-Response Self-Expanding Sandbags.
I placed an order off of their site and used them the next time I encountered a heavy rainfall.
I was super impressed with these self-expanding sandbags…
When dry, they are light-weight and not too heavy to carry. I was also able to store them in boxes before actually using them. When they were activated by water, they adapted perfectly to wherever I placed them.
They were able to absorb, block, and divert water from entering my basement.
Quik-Response Self-Expanding Sandbags were extremely durable. Its outside material was
heavy duty enough where the sandbags never tore when I was moving them. They were also not slimy although they were still wet.
Most importantly, they were much easier to dispose than Quick Dam Sandless Sandbags.
Since Quik-Response Self-Expanding Sandbags are biodegradable and eco-friendly, I disposed them by actually burying them in the soil. The Quik-Response Self-Expanding Sandbags helped hydrate my vegetation.
Conclusion
Because it has a much stronger material, higher durability, and easy installment, I have to go with Quik Response Self Expanding Sandbags. They provide a quicker solution and helped me save over thousands of dollars from not getting any water inside my home. While Quick-Dam is easier to find online (available on Amazon), the benefits and performance of QuikResponse Self-Expanding Sandbags are worth visiting Vasalta’s website.
