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7 Tips to Prevent Basement Flooding

To keep you and your basement dry, here are seven ways you can prevent basement flooding.

1. Clean and maintain gutters and downspouts

Cleaning your gutters and maintaining your downspouts is an essential part of maintaining your home. By keeping your gutters free of debris and ensuring downspouts are properly positioned away from the foundation, water from rain and storms will flow freely, rather than pooling up against your home.

Downspouts should direct water at least three feet away from your foundation; in most cases, using downspout extensions or troughs is necessary to achieve this distance. While cleaning your gutters and maintaining your downspouts can be a bit of annoyance, it’s  a relatively simple and inexpensive task.

2. Properly landscape your yard

The slope of your yard or the shape of your flower bed could be contributing to your water issues. Seems crazy, right? Consider this: if the slope of your yard directs water towards your home, water will pool up around your property, and eventually find a way in. Depending on your specific landscaping issue, you may need to regrade your lawn, or even have a French drain installed.

3. Inspect and repair foundation cracks

Cracks in your home’s foundation can act as an open invitation to water intrusion. To prevent basement flooding or water damage, visually inspect the exterior of your foundation, basement walls and floors on a regular basis. If you come across any cracks during your inspection, fill them with epoxy. If leaking still persists, or you encounter a more serious foundation problem, call a professional.

4. Practice proper sump pump maintenance

Sump pump failure is the most frequent cause of basement floods. If your home has a sump pump, you’ve already got a great defense in combating mold, water damage, and flooding. However, simply owning a sump pump doesn’t give you a “get out of jail free” card – you’ve got to maintain it too.

If you know a huge storm is headed your way, check to make sure your sump pump is working properly and is plugged in. Also, consider investing in a generator for your sump pump and a replacement to keep on hand, just in case you lose power or the pump fails when you need it most. Keep in mind, if your basement floods as a result of a broken sump pump, your homeowner’s insurance may not cover the damage.

5. Inspect sewers and clean septic systems

When was the last time you had your sewer inspected or your septic tank cleaned? Skipping out on sewer inspections and septic tank cleanings is a sure fire way to invite havoc into your home, as clogs, sewer backups and overflows are bound to eventually happen with lack of maintenance.

6. Install window well covers

Homes with below-grade basement windows should always be protected with window well covers. When fastened securely over your basement windows and latched on to your home’s foundation, window well covers work wonders in waterproofing your basement. To keep your basement bright, look for clear acrylic window well covers.

7. Get familiar with your insurance

Do you have flood insurance? How about additional coverage for sewer backups? This won’t prevent basement flooding per say, but if you don’t know the answer to either of these questions, take a few moments to review the details of your home’s insurance policy.

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