Tips to Prevent Basement Flooding 

It can be a scary experience to wake up one morning and find that water has seeped into your basement overnight. Whenever you wake up and see that everything is soaking wet, you have a sinking feeling. Even worse, the items you own may not be salvageable after sitting in flood for days.

Therefore, there is a need to master tips for flood control services, especially in the basement.

Downspouts should discharge water 5 to 10 feet from the foundation

They should be at least 3 inches in diameter and should not terminate less than 6 feet above the ground. If you use downspouts with holes, they should be located no closer than 3 feet from a window, door, or other openings.

Gutters should be clean

Leaves, dirt, and debris clog gutters, which can cause them to overflow during heavy rains. If your gutters are dirty, you should clean them regularly to prevent basement flooding.

The gutter should slope away from home at least 6 inches for every 12 feet of run 1/4 inch per foot. This ensures that water drains away from your home rather than pooling near it, where it can leak into your basement through cracked foundation walls or other openings in the foundation.

Keep gutters in good repair by repairing damaged parts as soon as you notice them. Don’t wait until they break entirely before taking action. You should not forget about other parts of your roof. What about flashing around windows? Are there any areas where shingles have worn away, so water seeps between the roof decking and clogs up around window frames? All these problems will lead to leaks inside if left unattended. And they’re easy enough to fix on their own.

Consider a backwater valve

A backwater valve is an excellent investment in preventing basement flooding. A backwater valve is installed outside your home and allows water to flow out of your house but not back in. Depending on where you want it located, it can be installed on the main sewer line or on individual drain pipes.

They can be installed by a professional plumber or even by yourself with minimal skills and tools if you’re handy. We recommend having one professionally installed. However, since that will give you peace of mind knowing that everything has been done correctly, there won’t be any leaks under your home caused by faulty installation work done by someone who wasn’t experienced enough with this type of project.

Landscape soil should slope away from the house

Slope the ground away from the house. Landscape soil should slope away from the house at a minimum of 1/4 inch per foot, or approximately a 2 percent grade. For example, if your basement door is on the first floor and you have 6 feet of foundation wall below it. Your landscape should be sloping downward for about a foot before leveling off. This will help prevent water from pooling up against your foundation and penetrating your basement.

Ensure all downspouts are directed away from foundations or other structures. Water needs somewhere to go when it flows downhill. Directing it toward a rain barrel or garden bed will keep it from flowing back toward your home’s foundation.

Install French drains in areas where water tends to get trapped underground. These systems collect excess water and discharge it elsewhere rather than allow it into low spots near foundations and walls where structural damage could occur over time due to increased moisture levels in soils.

Check your sump pump regularly

Checking the sump pump regularly is essential to avoiding basement flooding. Here’s what to look for:

Check for debris clogging the pump– Sometimes, debris can get into your sump pit and block your pump from working correctly. To clear this out, first make sure that the power is off to your sump pump by turning off the circuit breaker before doing anything else. Then use a broom handle or similar tool to dislodge any debris from around the outlet hole of your drainage system before turning on the power again.

Check for the water level in the sump pit– Sump pumps are intended for use with water levels up to about 12 inches high. Above that level, they cannot work efficiently enough to keep up with incoming water flow rates, which means you could be headed toward basement flooding if things aren’t corrected soon.

To check whether they need replacing, simply crouch down next to where they’re installed and see whether there are signs of leaking. This should include dark stains around any joints between piping segments where liquid may have leaked during operation. If so, it will probably mean replacing these pieces, too, since they’d likely need repositioning anyway once new ones arrive.

Patch any cracks in your basement floor or walls

If your basement floor or walls have cracks, you should patch them with concrete. You can use a concrete patching compound, which is basically just a cement-like substance that acts as a sealant and is used to fill in holes and cracks. Concrete patching tools are available at hardware stores, home improvement centers, and online.

Have a dehumidifier in your basement 

Flooding in basements can be a serious problem, primarily if it is caused by a leaking pipe or foundation wall crack. To prevent this from happening, ensure you have a dehumidifier in your basement and keep it operating properly throughout the year.

The dehumidifier should not only be checked regularly but also emptied frequently. Locate the drain hose and use it regularly to dispose of any excess water that has accumulated.

Key Takeaway

Wet basements are never fun, and cleaning basement floods is even less fun, so everyone should take some steps to prevent basement flooding. Basement flooding usually happens because of a glitch in the drainage system that needs repair or a weather event that was too much for the system to handle. The good news is that you can prevent flooding by repairing common issues like cracks and puddles.