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3 Maintenance Tasks That Will Help You Avoid Water Damage In Flash Floods

In some areas of the country, spring weather means flash flooding when the rains come in. This can be a serious problem if your home has poor drainage and maintenance. With a little maintenance, you can protect your home from serious water damage problems. If you want to avoid problems with the waters start rising this spring, here are some tips that may help: 

1. Cleaning Weeds And Drainage Systems Around Your Home

Weeds and other clutter around your home can contribute to a flooding problem. They can often stop storm drains and watershed channels, as well as be a fire hazard in summer. To prevent these problems, keep weeds and clutter clean, especially near drainage systems and storm drains. During the spring months, you may want to consider using an herbicide to keep the weeds under control and the drainage areas clear. Another option is to use concrete or gravel in these areas for a permanent solution.

2. Improve Landscaping With Erosion Prevention And Better Drainage

Landscaping with poor watershed can also be a problem with flash flooding. This can be worse if there is erosion causing changes in the drainage around your home. To prevent these problems, make sure your landscaping has good drainage design and plants that help to prevent erosion. For severe drainage problems, you may want to consider using solutions like gravel drain beds and dry wells to direct watershed to storm canals and drains. Retaining walls may be another solution that you want to consider for steep elevations.  

3. Ensure There Is Appropriate Waterproofing For Protection From Flooding

Waterproofing systems for your home are also important, especially if you have a basement. This is something that you will want to have inspected regularly (every few years). You may also want to have a sump well installed, which is a system with a pump that handles any water that gets in your home, as well as plumbing for basements. Sump systems can be used for homes that are not on basements but prone to water problems as well. When the sump well fills, a floater valve will turn the pump on to remove water from your home. 

These are some tips that may help this spring to prevent water damage problems when waters are rising near your home. Sometimes, these problems are unavoidable, even with the right maintenance. In these cases, contact a water damage restoration service (such as Servicemaster Of Martinsburg & Hagerstown) to help you clean up.   


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