I'm so sorry this happened to you and your wife. I can't stand the sound of fans running so I turned the stereo up to drown out their racket. After my 1st flooded basement I always kept waders at the top of stairway -just in case. My brother built me a 'deck' for the washer and dryer and shelves that were all 2 ft off the floor. I now live in a house w/o a basement and miss it. (the basement not the flooding) .Once you have things dried out keep your eyes open for mold.Wash it down with Ammonia-it is the only thing that kills mold. Bleach does not kill mold it only changes the color.