BACKFLOW VALVES
If your property is particularly vulnerable to a sewer backup, install a backflow valve on the home’s main waste drain pipe. During a flood event, waste water can surcharge back into the home. The backflow valve has a flapper valve that swings shut from the pressure of a suspected surcharge preventing sewer water from spouting out of toilets and showers. These are installed by professionals. Contact RC White for more info.

SUMP PUMP
The most common flood preventer is a sump pump that manages storm water from entering your home. When a basement is below the water table, a sump pump pit is needed to gather storm water so it can be pumped outside the home.  When water reaches a certain level in the sump pump pit, the device is triggered to start pumping. Homeowner’s can also install alarms on the sump pump that sound if the pump stops working. Some models will send a text message to mobile phones alerting homeowners of the malfunction.

Many floods that occur in homes with sump pumps are because sump pumps are powered with electricity and they don’t work when the area loses power. A backup sump pump with a separate power supply might be needed whether it’s run by a battery, water pressure or a generator.

APPLIANCES
Even one inch of water in a basement can render essential appliances useless like a furnace. When replacing appliances consider putting them on raised concrete blocks to protect the electronic parts from exposure to water.

DISCONNECT DOWNSPOUTS
In some older neighbourhoods, eve trough downspouts are connected to the home’s sanitation sewer pipe and contribute to sewer flooding of the home.  A fairly simple low cost fix to disconnect the downspout from the sewer pipe can solve this problem and save a homeowner thousands of dollars in damages from a basement flood from waste water.

MUNICIPAL GRANTS
Many communities like Windsor and Tecumseh offer grants to help shoulder some of the cost for homeowners to install sump pumps and to disconnect downspouts.  Contact your local town’s public works department for details.

Contact RC White if you have a flooding problem.