April Showers Bring Basement Flooding… Is Your Home Prepared?

As mentioned, there are other forces that can work against the overall structural integrity of your home. These can include the clay bowl effect, leaking basement windows, the stack effect, tree roots, and pests.

Dampness may be hard to get around, but full-scale basement flooding is much easier to prevent. Regular maintenance of your drainage and waterproofing systems is the best thing you can do for your home. Keep on top of these three areas for the best results. 

• Sump Pump Maintenance 

Your sump pump is one of the most important appliances in your home when it comes to preventing flooding and managing water levels. It is both your first and last line of defense when it comes to water in your home. As such, you must take good care of it. Sump pump failure is the most likely to cause a large flood. 

Scheduling regular maintenance appointments for your sump pump is one way to protect your home from flooding. When you have your pump regularly maintained, you will be notified of potential issues and the end of your sump pump’s lifespan as it approaches. This will help you to prevent avoidable breakdowns and floods. 

• Gutters and Drains 

Your home is likely to have a huge number of internal and external drainage systems that are incredibly important to its health and wellbeing. Keeping these systems clear, healthy, and functioning is one of the best things that you can do for your home. Keep your gutters and drains clean and free from debris to prevent avoidable flooding. 

Clearing your exterior gutters once a year and scheduling maintenance checks for interior or subterranean gutters and drainage systems is easy enough, but the benefits are truly huge. You can also invest in good downspouts if yours are a little outdated; this will help you to effectively direct water away from your home.

There are many reasons your basement could be flooded regularly. The most obvious, of course, is an external source of water or internal plumbing leaks. However, there are other possible causes. These include: 

• Leaking Window Wells 

If you have basement windows, water building up in the window wells can cause leaks or even a full-scale flood if the weather is extreme and you are unlucky. This can be caused by old, generally worn windows that are at the end of their life, or by damage to the window pane itself. However, the most common causes are damage to the sealant and the sill. 

The sealant around your windows is vulnerable to changes in temperature and is exposed to the elements. As such, it is often the first thing to wear away. When this happens, water will quickly begin to leak into your basement. If you have older windows with wooden sills, they can also be a cause of leaks; if the wood starts to rot, water will get through in surprising amounts. 

• Cracks in Your Walls or Floor 

Your basement is one of the areas in your home that is most vulnerable to cracking. This is because of the immense amount of pressure that it faces. Cracks in your basement and floor as a result of foundation damage or hydrostatic pressure can let in surprising amounts of water, especially if the ground is saturated after a severe storm. 

Dehydration, too, can be an issue for your basement. If the soil under your home shrinks as a result of dehydration, your foundation may not have enough support. This can lead to cracking and settlement. When the soil becomes saturated again, however, these cracks will let water into your basement directly. They will act almost like channels for the water. 

• Blocked Drainage Systems 

Your home’s drainage systems are incredibly important to its health. From your roof gutters to your sump pump, they are all part of a larger system that works to prevent water from building up around your home. Blocked drainage systems or a broken sump pump can cause serious flooding in your basement. As such, it is important to stay on top of maintenance. 

If one part of your drainage system becomes blocked, it will affect the rest of your systems until water starts to pool around your foundation. The most common problems this can cause are bowing walls and settlement, but flooding is often a co-occurring issue. Of course, if a big storm rolls in, even the most well-protected basements can see flooding.