How to Prevent Flooding | Tips from Your Reliable Katy, TX Plumber

5/27/2020

Photo By ronstik at istock

Flooding is something that no one wants to experience but it can become a major problem if you’re not careful. Living in a coastal state makes that even more of a problem for some, and when heavy rains come along with the water all around it can be a big deal. That’s why it’s important to know what you can do to reduce your risk of being flooded out of your Katy, TX home. The key is to always be prepared, and there are a few steps that you can take to make sure of that.

• Keep Your Drains Clear

If you have drains in your floor, which you likely do in a basement, you want to make sure that they are completely clear. Look for anything that might be blocking the drain or covering it in any way. If you do get water in your basement you want it to be able to flow back out again and if the drains are blocked it’s not going to happen. You’ll want to go down into your basement periodically to see if your drains need cleaning out or if anything needs to be moved to clear the way out of your basement.

The drains also include the entire pipe and plumbing that connects that floor drain to wherever it’s going to dispose of the water and moisture. You want to make sure that the entire line is clear, which is why you’ll want a professional plumber to come out and take a look once in a while. Don’t wait until there’s a problem or until there’s about to be a whole lot of rain before you call for someone to check things out. Make sure you do it regularly.

• Keep Your Gutters Clear

Your gutters are designed to make sure water moves away from your house, but if they get too full of leaves and other debris, they aren’t going to protect anything. That’s because too much other stuff in those gutters means the water can’t flow through. If it can’t flow through then it’s going to flow over and that means you’re going to have water running down the sides of your house. That means the water gets into the ground directly beside the house rather than being pushed away and you could end up with that water seeping into your basement and foundation.

• Pass Off the Water

Once the water gets into the gutters at your roof you want to make sure you’re directing it down in a way that actually works. You don’t want that water to end up right around your foundation and the best way to make sure of that is to extend your gutters down to the ground and away from the house. If you do this and you slope the water outward from the home, you reduce the chances that it’s going to pool around your foundation and start working its way into the house itself. A professional plumber can help you figure out the best way to go and how to arrange the gutters for your home.

• Get a Sump Pump

If you live in an area that might get a lot of rain or that tends to flood frequently, you’ll want to take a closer look at getting a sump pump. These pumps can help you keep your basement dry because they actually pump out any water that does get in. For some homes these are used already as part of the septic system, but if you don’t have one you may want to look into them to help with excess water that gets into your basement or that could start backing up into your basement if you’re not careful.

• Keep Your Power

If you do have a sump pump and your power goes out that means the sump pump is going to stop working. Unfortunately, the power usually goes out right when you actually need that sump pump to be working. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a secondary source of power that you can hook the pump into to make sure that it’s going to keep working when you need it most. A professional plumber can help you come up with the right system and setup to keep your pump working at all times.

If you do lose power and you have a backup generator, either one that you hook up separately or a whole-house generator that kicks in automatically, it’s going to make sure that your home doesn’t get that water backup and that your sump pump continues to do what it’s supposed to do. It will make sure everything is dry and should be able to keep up with most heavy rainfall situations.

What to Do

If you’re ready to start making some changes to your home to prevent flooding, then you’ll want to call a professional plumber to help. Make sure that you’re looking at all of the different ways that you could improve your situation and make sure that your basement is as protected as possible. It starts from the top, with inspecting the gutters and making sure they’re clear all the way to the ground. But there’s a lot more to it than that as well. A plumber can help you make sure you’re doing things right. That way you’re actually prepared rather than just thinking you’ve done everything you can.

All you have to do is give us a call at bluefrog Plumbing + Drain. We can send someone out to help you go over all of the different areas of your home to figure out what you could be doing to better protect yourself from a flood. Then, we can make sure that your drains are clean, and your sump pump is ready to go, no matter what might come your way. You want to make sure that your Katy, TX home is protected from anything and that includes making sure that you can clear out any water that you might need to during a flood.