The sun is shining and temperatures are rising as spring is just around the corner. The snow will begin to melt and flowers will start to bloom; and with all this changing weather, disaster is just around the corner.
Winter storms, snow melting, and heavy rain are common, but often overlooked, causes of flooding. Here are tips to help you prevent flood damage to your home.
For the outside:
- Seal cracks or openings in walls, floors, windows and foundations
- Clear gutters and downspouts of leaves and other debris that prevent proper drainage
- Make sure your disconnected downspouts are draining properly, ideally six and a half feet from your foundation’s walls
- Ensure the grading around your home slopes away from the foundation wall to help drain water away from your home
- Repair/replace damaged roof tiles
- Clear debris from roadside and grates to help water enter the sewer and street
For the inside of your home:
- Ensure that your plumbing is in good working condition
- Ensure the proper and regular maintenance of basement flooding devices in your home
- Consider installing shelves to help keep items off the floor in your basement. Also, avoid keeping valuables or important documents in the basement. If you do, keep them in a watertight/water-resistant container.
- Avoid carpet in the basement, which retains water and is harder to clean up.
- Install a sump pump. An automatic sump pump should help keep water leakage normal amounts of rainfall from building up in the basement.
Floods and other disasters can happen to anyone at any time. Always keep your policy up to date on contents and know your coverage.
Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Protect-a-Basement-from-Flooding
http://globalnews.ca/news/1154145/winter-thaw-tips-to-avoid-basement-flooding/
