What To Do When Your Basement Floods
Flooding is one of the most destructive plumbing problems at home. Flooding causes water damage at home. It can ruin your valuables and bring dirty contaminated flood water to your house. That is why you should implement all the necessary measures to prevent flooding in your house. Flooding usually occurs in areas that get frequent rainstorms. Flooding can also be caused by a heavy leaking or burst water supply pipe. The most effective way of preventing flooding in your home is to install a sump pump. This device is usually installed in a sump pit in the basement. It pumps flood water out of the basement to prevent flooding in the house. Sump pumps are designed in such a way that they automatically start pumping flood water from the basement when it hits a certain level. But due to various reasons, flooding can still occur even when you have installed a sump pump in your basement. The sump pump can fail or the power can go off and rendering the electric device useless. You should consider installing a battery powered backup sump pump to avoid flooding problems when the main sump pump malfunctions or the power goes. Anyway, when it comes to plumbing emergencies you should always be prepared. If you have tried all these preventive measures and they fail, do the following to ease your flooding problem.
Check The Cause Of The Flooding
The first thing that you should do when you realize that your basement is flooding or is already flooded is to determine the cause. As mentioned above, flooding can be caused by natural agents or by artificial problems. If the cause of the flood is a heavy rainstorm, then you will immediately know that your sump pump is not working. Request Alexandria emergency plumbing services
immediately to have the device repaired or replaced. But if your basement floor is flooded because of a leaking or burst pipe, then you can easily control or contain the situation by turning off the water at the main shutoff valve.
Turn Off Water And Electricity
Flooding can pose a serious hazard to you and your house. Electricity is very dangerous in a flood. It can be transmitted by the flood water and electrocute any person who steps in the water. You should consider turning off the electricity at the breaker box when your house is flooded. And as mentioned above, you should also consider turning off the water at the main shutoff valve if the cause of the flood is a heavy leaking or burst water supply pipe.
Remove The Water
Now that you have contained the situation, it’s time to rectify it. You should remove or have the water removed from the basement as soon as possible. You can use an ordinary water pump or simply fetch it out o the basement floor. You can also hire a plumbing company to pump out the water with the necessary equipment.
Fix The Problem
After all the water is removed, you can now fix the problem. Assuming that the problem was caused by a faulty sump pump, it can be repaired or replaced to avoid future flooding problems. If the flood was caused by a burst pipe , it should be repaired or replaced immediately to ensure safety in the house.
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