Tips to Keep Your Basement Dry

1/8/2020 (Permalink)

Helpful Tips To Prevent Basement Floods

Many houses in Fairfield County rely on a sump pump to keep the basement from flooding. When a big rain storm comes through, the sump pump will really be needed... and that's also the time that the power to a  neighborhood is most likely going to get knocked out, disabling the sump pump and allowing the basement to flood.

If your sump pump quits working, will you know about it before your basement floods?  Do you have a backup in place?  Does it work?  Are you sure? If you depend on a sump pump to keep your basement from flooding, it's important to have a backup system in place, just like it's important to back up the hard drive on your computer. 

It is one of those things that most people don't think about until it's too late.  If you want to protect your basement from flooding, get a backup system.  There are a few different backup systems available.

1. Secondary Electric Pump: A secondary electric pump would be a good option to keep your basement from flooding in the event that your primary sump pump failed.  The secondary pump would need to be installed a little bit higher in the sump basket than the primary pump.  The downside to installing one of these is that if the power to your house went out, the pump would be useless.

2. Battery Back Up: By far, the most common type of backup is a battery powered system.  This consists of a big heavy battery that's about the size and shape of a car battery, as well as a backup sump pump that sits in the sump basket a little bit higher than the primary pump.  This system will save your basement from flooding if your sump pump fails or your power goes out.

3. Hydraulic Pump: Another backup option for your sump basket is to install a pump that is powered by the municipal water pressure coming in to your home.  The nice thing about hydraulic pumps is that you don't have to worry about keeping a battery charged all the time, and if you have an extended power outage, you won't have to worry about the pump failing.

4. High Level Alarm: No matter what type of system you have installed, it's a good idea to have a high level alarm installed in your sump basket.  These alarms will sound off if the water level in your sump basket gets too high. If you don't have a backup system in place, these alarms will at least tell you that you have a problem and you need to jump in to action.

In the event you experience a flood call SERVPRO of Fairfield County at (740) 756-7003.