Outside The Home

• Homeowners should have all downspouts down.
• Shovel snow away from around the perimeter of your house. (6 to 8 feet wide or more) prior to the melting season.
• Make sure you have the proper grade of landscaping around the perimeter of your house to insure proper drainage away from your foundation.

Sump Pumps

• Route your sump pump outside.
• When routing your sump pump outside, visually check your sump hoses outside periodically during colder temperatures to make sure your line doesn’t freeze. Make sure the hose is at a grade where it empties and doesn’t have water sitting in it that could freeze.
• When routing your sump pump outside, make sure your sump hose is long enough and you are pumping water away from the foundation of your house.
• Remember, backup sump pumps will not pump water at the same rate as your regular sump pump. When in use, you need to monitor them.
• Test all backup sump pumps to make sure they are working properly.
• If you have a battery backup sump pump, make sure your battery is fully charged.
• If you have two sump pumps, make sure that they are plugged into different outlets on separate circuits. That way if a circuit blows, one of the sump pumps will remain working.
• If your sump pump doesn’t run very often, you can test it by filling the sump pit with water until the sump pump kicks in. If it never pumps the water out, you need to address the issue immediately.
• Check your sump system continuously; making sure that it is operating correctly.

Generators

• If you are running a generator, make sure it is outside where the carbon monoxide fumes can be vented. (Do not run a generator inside your home!)
• If you have a large home generator, make sure you have a professional complete an annual maintenance prior to the flooding season.

Drain Plugs

• Make sure if you have plugged your drains, you need somewhere for condensation to drain from your furnace and/or humidifier.
• Place a sandbag or something heavy over floor drains that are plugged to help insure that they stay in. Backup pressure is unpredictable and there is no guarantee that the plugs will be able to handle the pressure alone.
• Check your drains and openings that have been plugged periodically to make sure there are no signs of seepage.

Sewer Backflow Valves

• If you do not have a sewer backflow valve, consider installing both styles in your home for peace of mind and to eliminate the need for drain plugs.
• Sewer backflow valves need to be cleaned annually either by yourself or a professional for proper operation.
• If you have a manual sewer backflow valve, and you close it, you cannot use your water or sewer system in your home. If you do, that usage will backup into your home.
• If you have a manual sewer backflow valve, and you close it, you cannot route your sump pump into the city sewer. If you do, it will backup into your home.
• If you have a manual sewer backflow valve, and you close it, you cannot operate your water softener, reverse osmosis system or any other device that generates water that drains into your sewer system. If you do, it will backup into your home.
• If you have a manual sewer backflow valve, and you close it, make sure you have somewhere for condensation to drain from your furnace and/or humidifier.

General

• Remove all coveted items from any at-risk areas of your home.
• Have Laney’s perform a Stay Dry Inspection on your home prior to the flooding season to give you the peace of mind that your flood control equipment is working properly.

You can always contact us for more info!