Basement floods and leaks can be both damaging to your home and costly to fix. Water damage can destroy your personal belongings, it can ruin your flooring, appliances, drywall, and if not dried properly, it can result in a mold problem.

So, what can homeowners do to prevent water damage to the basement?

Today, we are looking at some of the main sources of floods and what you can do to help flood-proof your basement. This is How to Prevent Flooding in Your Basement.

1. Set your sump pump up right.

The sump pump is the heart of your basement flood prevention system. If you aren’t familiar, sump pumps are a small pit that collects water from around the perimeter of your home into your basement and then pumps it out of the house.

If it's not working properly or power goes out, AC operated sump pumps can't pump the water out of your home, so water builds up, overflows and floods. There are a few sump pump solutions, like a battery backup, or a generator so there is power for your unit to continue working.

There are also water-powered backup pumps which use municipal water to pump the water out by using suction from your sump pump pit... and by the way, there are companies in Sarnia-Lambton who can install these for you.

2. Get a backwater valve to prevent sewage backups.

During major storms, sewage can back up into your home. A backwater valve allows flow in one direction, but prevents it from coming back inside. Get a licensed plumber to install one of these.

3. Check out & fix the soil slope around your home.

If the slope goes towards your home, that means that rainwater will likely run towards your foundation and could potentially cause flooding in your basement. The fix here is to make sure that the soil around your home slopes away from the foundation, so that water will run away from your house instead of towards it.

4. Prevent soil from pulling away from the house by filling it in.

Water can get built up and trapped between the home and soil, creating a pocket around your home. This can be filled in and packed down with soil. Maybe the same time you check and fix sloping, you can deal with this too.

5. Clear your window wells.

Window wells are another potential source of basement flooding. Window wells are the little depressions around your basement windows where rainwater can collect. If you have window wells, make sure that they are cleared out so they can properly drain. This will help stop water from building up and causing flooding.

6. Check for cracks in your basement walls.

Though you’re less likely to get massive flooding from cracks, it is a possibility that the problem will grow if not dealt with. For those looking to sell their home, when cracks, high amounts of moisture, or clear water damage is detected in a home this will likely be considered a material fact that could impact a buyers willingness to purchase the property. Even if no flooding results from cracks, the water will still damage your drywall, and have the same risk to flooring and possible mold if not treated properly.

7. Keep your gutters and downspouts free of debris.

Gutters and downspouts take the water that hits your roof to the edges of the home and down and away from the property. If these are blocked, water will simply flow over and this leads to excess water around the home.

This can lead to leaks, and makes your sump pump have to work harder. Keep these clear and have the downspouts take the water at least 2 meters away from the home, on a slope towards a drain.