Melting Snow Causing Basement Flooding Tips

Melting Snow Causing Basement Flooding Tips

How I solved the problem: the sump pump float stick was stuck - I pulled and pushed on it and it started working. You should hear a pump, and  the water should NOT be up to the floor level, it should be well below.
How sump pump works
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Wet Basement After a Snow Melt?

After a heavy snow comes water. This is just one of the many certainties we all face. Proper runoff and drainage can help direct water away from your foundation, but water can still sneak by. A sump pump can help push water away from your home. If your drainage or sump pump aren’t in proper working order, then melting snow could turn from flake to pond in your basement.

A wet basement is more than just a headache. Depending on how much water invades the space, it could signal serious damage to the structure of your home. In fact, just an inch of water creeping across the floor can cost you more than $10,000, see floodsmart.gov. Here are a few tips you can employ to make sure your home stays dry during snow melt or spring rains.

Check the Gutters and Foundation Drainage
Any home can struggle with water in the basement if the gutters are in disrepair and the ground around your foundation angles towards the walls of your home. Inspect the gutters regularly to make sure they are clean and attached tightly to the fascia.

Water that pours over the edges of a blocked gutter or slips between the gutter and fascia will hit the ground near your foundation with great force and erode the ground.

This water has no where to go but the foundation around your basement or crawlspace. Many times small cracks and ridges can form in your foundation. This settling is normal, but heavy water can find the holes and cause water damage. These cracks can go years unnoticed, once the right circumstance become evident, it’s a nasty flood. We have a great idea on how to prevent water from foundation settling…

Call a waterproofer!
If you ever start to have some serious water problems in your basement, like the sump pump always runs or moisture is always seen after a rain then call a waterproofer. These companies are trained to keep your basement dry. It’s easy to tell if your waterproofer did the job right, the water goes away. This makes them accountable because you have a physical way to monitor their work. Explain the situation and ask for a free estimate, repeat two more times for three total quotes.

What comes next is very important, trust your heart and go with the contractor who most recognized you of someone with wisdom and honor, like any Clint Eastwood character. Tip: find a few local reviews by search sites such as Google Places, Yelp, Facebook, Yahoo, Yp.com, etc.

Invest in a Sump Pump with an Alarm
Whether your basement floods once a year or every time it rains, you want to take steps to prevent flooded basement problems. A sump pump is a fantastic investment. Water infiltrating the area drains to a sump pit. Once there, the pump will engage and remove it from the basement to prevent flooding.

The one failing of sump pumps is that all machines face, eventually, they’ll wear down. When a sump pump fails, it generally leaves a pool in your basement. If you want to get back to your day at the beach, be wise, invest in a generator. Want to take your basement water protection to the next level? PitBoss Cellular Pump Alarm sends a notification if your pump stops working and the water level starts rising. After receiving the sump pump water alarm, you can fix the problem and restore power before the water reaches your basement floor.

Melting snow and flooding is a serious problem for homes and offices. There is a constant worry that water will get into the basement and ruin your belongings. With the right equipment and maintenance, you won’t have to worry about a wet basement. Check the gutters, correct drainage and invest in a quality sump pump with PitBoss High Water Alarm; to protect your home from floods.

Restorationeze:
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About Matt Buchanan

I grew up in Irving, TX and left for Nashville, TN for college. After college I lived in Washington, DC and then in Cairo, Egypt. After coming back to the states, I spent a couple of years back in Dallas before moving with my wife to Denver!

http://restorationeze.com/basement-flooding-melting-snow/

If it’s the case you have a wet basement and no visible sign of a pipe leak or home appliance malfunction, and your area has sustained heavy snowstorms recently, you could be looking at flooded basement due to snow melt.  If that is the case, it should be treated like any other flooding basement from the perspective of a water restoration company.

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Basement water extraction

First, we would get the water out using a variety of differentbasement water extraction systems.  Within a couple of hours, we can have the majority of the water out of your basement.

But despite great equipment and the proper techniques, it takes more work to get out the remaining moisture, whether they’ve found their way into your foundation walls, floors, or carpets.

Hopefully we can get the water out before any structural damage occurs!

Drying out the basement

To get out the remaining moisture, it must be evaporated using powerful drying equipment and dehumidifiers.  The drying equipment or air movers (what you would probably call a fan) that pass hot, dry air throughout the affected area.  We take moisture content readings throughout the basement to know what is wet and then place our equipment in a way that maximizes their drying ability.

Typical dry times are just under 4 days, but so much of it depends upon the type of materials that have gotten wet and the amount of area that needs to be dried.  Our technicians return each day to take readings of the environment as well as the moisture levels of the areas we’re working to dry out.  We can then adjust our drying plans according to the effectiveness of the equipment.

What if the water came through my foundation?

In most cases, a basement will flood due to something malfunctioning inside the basement.  But when it comes to snow melt, the reality is that if enough water pools in the moisture around your basement, it’s going to find a way into your home.  Even concrete walls are porous and you would be shocked at how much water can pass through them given the opportunity.

If that’s what has happened to you, your best option is to call a basement waterproofing company.  These companies specialize in creating waterproof systems that can be applied either inside or outside the basement walls and they can effectively stop the moisture from entering the basement.