Keeping Your Home Safe from Flooding

Anytime unwanted water enters your home, you have a flood on your hands. Whether the water is only 2 inches deep or nearly 2 feet deep, your home’s structure is in danger. To prevent future floods and control situations that might allow that unwanted water into your home, do a risk assessment that includes the following four maintenance tasks.

Install Sump Pump

Anyone with a basement is probably familiar with a sump pump. But did you know the machine should be regularly checked and calibrated to make sure water can be pumped out of the area? The pump, battery, and float sensors should all be tested yearly and replaced if they don’t work correctly.

Move Gutter Downspouts

Your gutters move water off your home and into a downspout. Ideally, the downspout is then meant to allow water to flow freely away from your home’s foundation. If possible, dig a channel under the downspout using gravel or pipes that moves water out into the yard.

Check Pipe Valves

Although the tank level equipment takes standard preventative measurements for homes, all the pipes should also have working valves to ensure that any flooded water or sewage doesn’t back into the house. If you have flap valves, consider replacing them with gate valves for a more secure pressure seal.

Grade Yard Soil

When your home sits on a flat area, the water can easily run against the foundation and under it. To easily prevent unwanted water in crawlspaces or basements, grade your home’s soil to at least 6 inches higher near the house than at the rest of the yard.

You can be proactive about flooding around your home and in your yard. Start with a sump pump and move on to grading your yard to make your landscape and basement flood resistant. Using the precautions listed above may just be the beginning, but they are a good start in protecting your home from flooding.