{"id":251,"date":"2011-03-16T10:06:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T14:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/?p=251"},"modified":"2013-03-19T12:20:53","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T16:20:53","slug":"prevent-basement-flooding-caused-by-spring-thaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/prevent-basement-flooding-caused-by-spring-thaws\/","title":{"rendered":"Prevent Basement Flooding Caused by Spring Thaws"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The winter brought record snow falls and colder than normal temperatures to much of the United States, but thankfully relief from springtime is just around the corner.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Homeowners looking forward to winter\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s end and green lawns should also prepare for the unfortunate side effect of melting snow and ice \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 basement flooding.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Heavy rainfall and rapidly melting snow during a spring thaw are primary causes of wet basements, however, there are steps you can take now to reduce damage.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Clear snow away from the house<\/strong> \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Melting snow piled up around the perimeter of your house will run down basement walls, so get out your shovel and move it back 3-5 feet.<\/li>\n
  2. Clean out gutters and downspouts<\/strong> \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Remove snow, ice and debris from your roof and gutters so water can move freely away from the foundation of your home.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Properly designed gutters and downspouts should move water at least three feet away from the house to a well-drained area.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 For tips on how to clear your gutters, see “How to Remove Ice Dams in Gutters<\/a>.”<\/li>\n
  3. Check your sump pump<\/strong> \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Basements prone to flooding should be equipped with a sump pump<\/a> to draw water out of the basement and away from the house.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 If your home has a sump pump<\/a>, make sure the intake valve is not blocked and the sump pit is clean.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Test it by pouring water into the pit and checking that the outflow discharges away from the house.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Consider installing a sump pump<\/a> if your home has a history of flooding.<\/li>\n
  4. Get peace of mind with a water alarm<\/strong> \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 A water alarm<\/a> and flood sensor<\/a> will alert you of water in the basement<\/a> before<\/em> extensive damage is done.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 There are a range of affordable water alarm systems<\/a> available that will alert you via an audible siren and\/or a phone call<\/a> to one or more pre-programmed telephone numbers.<\/li>\n
  5. Move valuables to higher ground <\/strong>\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Basements are a great place to store seldom used items, but recognize that everything stored down there is at risk.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Moisture, mold and water damage are constant threats.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Anything stored in a basement should be moved off the ground and onto a shelf unless it is waterproof, and important papers and valuable property should be relocated to an upstairs room, closet or attic.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These simple steps can help prevent thousands of dollars of water damage caused by basement flooding.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 So protect your house and belongings and go through this checklist before the spring thaw (and deluge of water) arrives!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The winter brought record snow falls and colder than normal temperatures to much of the United States, but thankfully relief from springtime is just around the corner.\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0 Homeowners looking forward to winter\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s end and green lawns should also prepare for the unfortunate side effect of… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,9],"tags":[28,29,30,31,24,25],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flood-intervention","category-home-monitoring-security","tag-flood-sensor","tag-flood-sensors","tag-sump-pump","tag-sump-pumps","tag-water-alarm","tag-water-alarms","clearfix"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273,"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.diycontrols.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}