How to Prevent Your Basement from Getting Flooded

A home, wherever it may be built at, does not only serve as a place to sleep in. A home is also an important investment and a place of refuge for every family and must be protected from all the harsh elements that may destroy it. 

Australian homes along the Queensland coastal areas are highly susceptible to be visited by cyclones, the latest of which was Cyclone Debbie, which caused a lot of damages and flooding within the area. Fortunately, there are companies like Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment that have readily available equipment to help with the cyclone cleanup and help residents get potable water supply immediately after the cyclone has passed. 

A flooded basement is always the bane of the homeowner. During the 2017’s Cyclone Debbie, homes that were not devastated by the strong winds, still had basement flooding to contend with. This cyclone devastation is the reason why many homeowners spend countless hours and thousands of dollars renovating their basements so that flooding will not occur in their homes. Flooded basements lead to damaged items which are stored in the basement. They also cause moulds and mildew to grow in damp and moist places, and these can release spores that cause respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive respiratory disease. 

Fortunately, experts such as Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment, have available devices to help handle a flooded basement problem. One of these devices is the sump pump. A sump pump can be installed in your basement and is considered to be the most reliable defence mechanism against a flooded basement. 

What is a Sump Pump?

A sump pump consists of a groundwater collection system, a sump pump and an outlet drain. This sump pump is effective in preventing excess groundwater from creating a flooded basement.

When rains pour, groundwater is collected in drainage tiles which are found buried along the foundation or under the basement floor of the home. This water will then flow towards a tank which is buried under the home. However, too much rain will result in excess water that would eventually fill the tank and overflow to the basement. An installed sump pump in the basement will prevent this excess water overflow from reaching flood levels. 

How Do Sump Pumps Prevent Basement Flooding?

A sump pump prevents the overflowing of water and eventually a flooded basement because a switching device is activated once groundwater fills the collecting tank to a certain level. The pump assembly then pumps the collected water away from home through a discharge pipe or hose that connects directly to the main sewage system of the street. 

Sump pumps are placed within pits that are eighteen inches in diameter and three feet in depth. If a home’s basement is large in terms of its dimensions, then it is recommended to have more than one sump tank installed to ensure that a flooded basement would not occur. 

Sump pumps may be electric powered or gas-powered. An electrical sump pump is more powerful than a gas-powered one, however; electricity may not be one hundred per cent reliable when storms come because strong winds may cause power failures that would prevent the electric sump pump from preventing a flooded-basement. It is advisable to have an auxiliary power supply, such as a gas-powered generator set, handy in cases of a power blackout. 

Having sump pumps from Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment installed in the basement would make any homeowner unworried that a flooded basement would not bother them even when the strong rains would come. It is important to invest in the prevention rather than the consequences brought about by a flooded basement.