Preventing basement floods ought to be a concern for everyone with a basement. Some sort of water intrusion, minor or major, affects 98% of basements during the life of the home. Besides ruining possessions stored there, electrical panels, HVAC equipment and other vital systems—as well as posing the potential for long-term contamination by toxic mold—basement floods can also be damaging to the foundation and structure of the house.
Since the flood that never happens is the easiest kind to deal with, here are five tips for preventing basement floods:
- Maintain gutters. A roof sheds hundreds of gallons of water per hour during a heavy rainstorm, more than enough to cause flooding if it makes its way down into your basement. Water cascading from clogged, overflowing gutters inundates the ground below and may penetrate the basement wall. Also, make sure gutter downspouts discharge water at least three to five feet from the house
- Grade away from the house. Prevent pooling of water around the foundation perimeter. Landscape next to the house should be graded so water flows away and doesn't soak into the ground immediately next to basement walls.
- Install a sump pump. A high groundwater level may cause basement flooding, especially during extended rainy periods. Installed in a sump basin excavated in the basement floor, a sump pump activates automatically to remove groundwater rising up beneath the house. After water is pumped out of the basement and discharged outside, the pump turns off automatically.
- Consider a backflow valve. Raw sewage flowing backwards through the sewer line from various causes enters the house at the lowest point—usually basement drains or fixtures. A backflow valve installed in your sewer line diverts sewage reflux up through an outdoor clean-out port before it floods the basement.
- Don't ignore plumbing leaks. Pinhole leaks or seeping joints in water supply lines routed through the basement aren't “normal” and shouldn't be ignored. They may be a warning sign of an imminent pipe rupture that can flood the basement with thousands of gallons of water.
Ask the experts at Rytech, Inc. for more information about preventing basement floods.
