Ways to Protect Your Home from Flooding and Water Damage

5/22/2017 (Permalink)

How to protect your home in advance of a heavy rainfall, melting snow or a rapid spring thaw.

Weather can be crazy and unpredictable, but you can take precautions now to minimize the chance your home will sustain water damage from flooding.

Tips to minimize water damage from a flood: outside the home

1. Ensure your lot is properly graded, so that water can drain away from your basement walls


2. Repair, where possible, sidewalks, patios, decks and driveways that may have shifted over the years, allowing water to pool close to home.


3. Landscape your yard and gardens with plants and vegetation that will minimize soil erosion.


4. In the winter, clear snow away from the home's foundation.


5. Consider getting window well covers so that water does not accumulate.

Tips to minimize water damage from a flood: inside the home

1. While you plumber is checking the weeping tile, have them look at the sump-pit and sump pump too (if you have them) to ensure they're working correctly and not blocked.


2. Ask your plumber about installing a backwater valve.  A backwater valve is a devise that stops water and sewage from coming back into the house during times of heavy rainfall.  A backwater valve should be maintained annually.


3. Consider investing in a water leak sensors and alarms that alert you to possible leaks in the home; some of the more sophisticated models will even turn off the water coming into the house if a problem is detected.


4. Keep your floor drains clear of obstructions


5. Seal cracks around windows and in the basement foundation and floors.


6. Protect your HVAC system; if possible have a professional elevate the furnace and hot water tank so that it's not sitting on the basement floor.


7. Consider installing shelves in the basement to keep items off the floor.  Also, avoid keeping valuables and important documents in the basement; store them upstairs where they are less likely to be damaged.


8. Don't pour fats, oils and grease down your drains; they may solidify and contribute to a clogged pipe - the last thing you need when your system is under distress from a storm!


9. During heavy rainfalls, minimize your home water use.

Should water intrude your home, call the professionals at SERVPRO of Clifton, to quickly remediate and make it "Like it never happened"

SERVPRO of Clifton 973-928-3705