Keeping your home dry during wet seasons is a priority for most homeowners. Water damage can be messy and expensive to fix. And most homeowner insurance policies don’t include flood coverage unless you pay extra for it. So it’s important to prevent water from becoming a problem in the first place. The following are three simple tips to keep your home dry and clean.
Maintain Your Sump Pump
For homeowners with a basement, a sump pump will do a lot of the heavy lifting to keep your basement dry. As water fills the sump pit, the pump will remove the water once it reaches a predetermined level. It’s very important to properly maintain this pump.
Regular maintenance should include cleaning the pump’s intake. This can become clogged with debris, greatly reducing the amount of water it can pump out. While the pump is out of the basin, clean any debris that has collected in the basin as well. Finally, carefully inspect the pump motor. Depending on the motor, the bearings might need to be lubricated at regular intervals. Check the owner’s manual for suggested regular maintenance.
Depending on how often your sump pump runs, it might need to be replaced entirely. The average pump lifespan is about ten years. But this can vary greatly based on how often your pump is running.
Fix Your Roof
If the roof on your house is starting to look old and worn, you are risking leaks into your house. A leaky roof can cause everything from minor water damage to mold, flooding, and even a collapsed roof. Most roofs have a lifespan of about 20 years, depending on the material. But if the roof was built using low-quality materials or the job was done poorly, it might need to be replaced sooner than later. Because this is such a big job, it’s best to leave roof repairs and replacements to your local residential roofing professional. They can do an inspection and find any problem spots before they cause catastrophic damage.
Drainage Around Your House
While landscaping can make your property look beautiful and more appealing, it should also take into consideration proper drainage. Ideally, you should have no standing water anywhere on your property after an average rainstorm. This means that the water needs a way to flow away from your property, preferably into a storm drain. You can do this by creating a new drainage plan. This might include installing a french drain or other systems that will carry water away from your property. Your property’s grading should also slope downwards, away from your house to prevent flooding. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to contact a landscaper to address the problem.
If you notice any problems with your sump pump, property drainage, or roof, get them fixed sooner rather than later. Most problems are simple and inexpensive if taken care of right away, compared to the cost of cleaning up water damage from a flooded house.
