Preparing for Winter and How to Prevent a Flooded Basement from Happening

No one wants to see a flooded basement, but how bad is it really?

Besides just being a nuisance and throwing off your household chore workflow for the day, basement leaking can be linked to more serious consequences rather than just having wet feet. It’s an inconvenient mess that no one wants to clean up but there are some negative reactions above the inconvenience of the situation.

– Researches have found that a flooded basement can increase your chance of developing respiratory problems.

– If you have long-term and continuous basement flooding that goes untreated, some of your home or equipment may become damaged or destroyed and even worse than that, your insurance might not cover it.

– If you do have insurance that covers damage from a flooded basement, your insurance cost may go up once you start making claims.

– Basements that are prone to flooding and are chronically wet, have their value dropped tremendously if the house is ever sold or appraised.

There are two major times of the years when your at the most risk for having a flooded basement. During the winter years when the snow is melting away and during the rainy season when there is a constant downpour. You shouldn’t be too awfully worried if you live in a place that rarely sees any rain or snow but for the majority of the country, different seasons make basement flooding a threat.

Trying to diagnose a flooded basement and why it happened can be difficult but some of the reasons are:

– Cracks in your basements walls which are allowing water to sneak in or leaks in the walls.

– You may also have poor drainage going away from the house.

– A plugged downspout could also be causing flooding into the basement.

– There is a blockage between your nearest sewer and your house. This isn’t common, but it has happened.

There are more uncommon causes such as a river flooding, but that takes more than simple preparation to fend off and that’s highly uncommon. A flooded basement from something drastic such as a river flood or hurricane requires more than some handyman tools which is why that will not be covered in this article. There are some simple things you can check for to make sure that you have the least possible chance of waking up one morning to find a flooded basement.

You should always check your gutters/downspouts and any water lines you have inside and outside of the house. Check thoroughly for leaks or any cracks as one small leak can turn into a major hole which in turn can cause a flooded basement down the road. Also, make sure you have adequate distance from your downspout to the location it’s pushing the water. You don’t want any water being drained right near the foundation because the water will slowly work it’s way into the basement through the ground and foundation which can cause a flooded basement. No one wants to deal with a flooded basement, but just follow a few small common sense steps to drastically reduce the chance of it ever happening to you.

If you have been hit by a flooded basement you need a good water damage repair company to do the job right the first time.


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