Why is Soil Washout an Issue?

Soil washout, otherwise called erosion, is a process by which the soil becomes weak and loose before being blown or washed away entirely. This can cause issues for your land and property in a number of ways. 

Property Health 

Soil washout can affect the health and stability of your home. The most obvious effects are, of course, the steady sinking and cracking of exterior surfaces like your patio and driveway. These exposed areas are the most likely to face issues as a result of continual soil washout, but they are not the only surfaces at risk if the issue is left unaddressed. 

If soil erosion and washout are allowed to go on unfettered, you are likely to see damage to the structure of your home. This can start with foundation exposure and saturation, but can quickly progress to issues like bowing walls, settlement, subsidence, and general structural instability. As the soil under your home shifts, your foundation can start to move too, bringing a whole host of unique issues with it. 

Land Health 

Soil washout and erosion are somewhat circular phenomena. Healthy soil is the least likely to be badly affected, but soil washout causes the quality of the soil in question to deteriorate. This in turn makes the erosion more dramatic and further depletes the soil, and so on. As a result, soil erosion becomes exponentially worse over time. This has an impact on your yard as well as your home. 

Badly washed-out soil can become unable to support plant life of any kind, essentially becoming fallow. This can cause bald spots to appear in your lawn, or even cause trees on your property to die and, eventually, topple over. Once the soil reaches this stage in its deterioration, it will be a long, intensive, complex, and costly process to bring it back to full health. As such, it is far better to deal with soil washout quickly (especially if you are an avid gardener).