10 Best Ways to Protect Your Home From Flooding in 2022

Owning your own home is the most important investment you’ll ever make.

So, when springtime arrives, the melting snow and ice from the previous winter (due to spring showers) can cause flooding in your home. In the long run, you should maintain parts of your home to prevent flooding caused by heavy rainfall or accidents.

That’s why having home insurance is essential when you’re a homeowner, as flooding could happen and you thus need to be insured. In the meantime, prevention is key. With that in mind, here are 10 ways to protect your home from flooding in 2022.

1. Give the water somewhere to go

Having methods that naturally direct water away from your home is a good way to prevent flooding. For instance, get your front and backyards re-graded with downspout extensions. Removing plant debris can prevent the soil from draining correctly. Installing a foundation drain tile is also helpful for redirecting water away from your home.

2. Check for roof leaks

If your roof is worn out or becomes compromised, leaks can seep through and increase the chance of flooding your home. It’s important to hire a professional roof inspector on an annual basis, especially if your home is an older model, as any cracked or damaged shingles are the first points of entry for water during rainstorms.

On the roof, check for small dents that are usually caused by wear-and-tear or inclement weather conditions. After it rains, standing water sits on the small dents on your roof. If you leave the roof dents unrepaired, they will eventually corrode due to the sitting water and the paint will chip off.

Once the paint chips off, water seeps through these roof dents a lot faster during rainstorms. So, once you spot roof dents, treat them with rust-proof paint to prevent corrosion and leaks.

3. Install a battery-powered sump pump

The benefit of installing a sump pump in your basement is that it will redirect all water on the ground into a storm drain and protect your home from flooding. It’s best to get a battery-operated sump pump, as it can continue to operate in case of a power outage.

A sump pump will work better at preventing floods if your basement walls are sealed with waterproof compounding to prevent water from seeping through the cracks.

4. Check for and repair any cracks

Do a walk-around in your basement and look for any small to big cracks. If you find any cracks on the foundation walls or basement floors, the best thing to do is to seal them with epoxy-based resin with a caulking gun.

This way you don’t have to dig around the foundation. Sealing the cracks in your basement floors and foundation walls will prevent leaks and reduce the risk of water damage in case of a flood.

Along with any basement cracks, check all the frames of windows and doors (especially patio doors where a lot of leaks happen) for any cracks, and fill the gaps with epoxy-based resin by caulking.

5. Avoid laminate flooring

If possible, avoid using laminate flooring in your home, as they are thin like cardboard. If a leak occurs, laminate floors expand like cardboard and will soak up water. That’s the main disadvantage of laminate floors: once they are exposed to moisture caused by water damage, the moisture gets locked into the flooring and will continue to remain damp, even after a thorough mopping. The next time your laminate flooring gets wet, the new water and previous moisture seeped into the tiles will cause an even bigger flood.

6. Install a backwater valve

Getting a backwater valve installed under your basement floor by a professional plumber is a big investment that needs to be maintained annually. However, this device stops sewage, debris, and water from coming back into your home during heavy rainstorms.

The valve contains a disc that prevents a sewer pipe from letting wastewater from a sewer system enter your home’s drainage system. It keeps sewer water flowing in the sewers, even in cases of rainstorms when the water level tends to rise.

7. Protect your HVAC system

An important safety measure to consider in case of a flood is elevating your HVAC systems (such as the furnace and hot water tank) by a professional plumber. In case of basement flooding, having your furnace and hot water tank elevated above the ground prevents them from getting damaged and thus allows the HVAC system in your home to keep running.

8. Install water level sensors

Water level sensors act as a real-time alarm system that monitors your home’s water usage and alerts you when levels of water are rising in your home. By having real-time alerts set to a specific water level, you’ll be notified on your cell phone or mobile device when fast-rising water levels occur in a specific area of your home. This gives you ample time to check it out and call for help.

9. Install shelves in the basement

Everyone loves to stack things on the ground in the basement. However, if you’re storing valuable items such as artwork, artifacts, and coin collections, it’s best to keep them off the basement floor. Installing sets of shelves around your basement is a great preventative measure in case of flooding because your prized possessions will be free of damage as they’ll be above ground.

10. Get flood insurance

Despite practicing the best prevention measures, if your home experiences a flood in the basement or other areas, W.B. White Insurance can protect you from loss or damage due to flooding caused by heavy rain or accidents in your home. To learn more about our home insurance policies covering water damage, call W.B. White Insurance at 1-877-420-4572 or contact us here.