Heavy rain and flooding can cause significant damage to homes and businesses, often leading to costly repairs and disruptions. Read on to gain a better understanding of how to prevent water damage and respond effectively when it occurs in order to better safeguard your property, ready for when the next rainstorm or flood season hits.
Collapsed Drains
Heavy rain and flooding can put immense pressure on underground drainpipes, causing cracks, breakages, and misalignment. All of these sorts of plumbing issues can ultimately lead to a collapsed drain.
Carrying out a regular inspection and cleaning of your drains, especially in the run up to the wetter months, will help to ensure they are clear of debris, preventing blockages that can increase water pressure and cause drains to burst, misalign and, ultimately, collapse. Checking your drainage system for cracks, corrosion, wear, and other signs of damage periodically can also help to prevent larger failures during heavy rain or flooding. If you do discover any small issues, contact your local drainage expert as soon as possible to avoid issues escalating.
As a collapsed drain is one of the most serious issues that can occur with drainage systems, if your preventative measures have not succeeded and you identify a collapsed drain, this will need to be rectified as soon as possible, usually involving an excavation by a drainage expert, to ensure the full extent of the damage is properly repaired
Basement Flooding
Intense hydrostatic pressure can build up and push against your basement walls as water from heavy rain and flooding saturates the ground. This pressure can cause cracks, worsen existing cracks, or ultimately cause your walls to give way, resulting in your basement flooding
To safeguard your basement against flooding, waterproofing can be achieved using lime plaster, polyurea spray, and other similar materials. Where possible, cracks and weaknesses in the walls will be filled to prevent moisture making its way through the cracks. Elsewhere, waterproofing membranes can be applied to the walls to prevent water seeping through, reinforcing the walls of your basement. It’s important to use professionals when converting your basement. We have used this Bristol based company for our basement conversion.
Unfortunately, flooded basements are not as uncommon as you might think, especially during heavy rain and floods. If you experience a flooded basement, treat the matter as an emergency. Your first port of call is to shut off power to the basement; after this, immediately contact a professional flooded basement cleanup service to help you to manage the flooding and relieve your stress and uncertainty.
Leaking Roofs
A leaking roof occurs during heavy rain when water is able to penetrate the roof structure. This has a number of causes including clogged gutters causing water overflow onto the roof, damaged or missing roof tiles, poorly installed flashing around vents and chimneys, debris buildup in roof valleys, cracked or worn-out seals around pipes, and issues with skylights.
To prevent a roof from leaking during heavy rain, contact a roofing expert to perform a visual inspection of your roof to identify any potential causes and then execute a repair to avoid any leakages during future heavy rainstorms.
In the event that you do find a leak in your roof, you should first locate the leak by checking for loose tiles or gaps in your roof or searching for any blockages in your gutters. Then, use a bucket to contain the leaking water, removing electronics and valuables from the immediate area as soon as possible. At this point, a professional roofer can identify the cause of the leak and recommend any required repairs.
Damaged Electricals
If water from heavy rain or flooding permeates walls containing electrical devices and wiring, this can lead to short circuits, corrosion of internal components, and electrical pathway disruption, causing the device to malfunction. This occurs due to electricity trying to find a path through water instead of the intended electrical circuits.
The most effective way to prevent electrical damage is to unplug your electrical items during a rainstorm or flood, especially sensitive electronics, and keep them in dry areas with protective cases away from any direct exposure to water. Surge protectors can also be used to mitigate power surges from lightning strikes.
In the event you do experience electrical damage from heavy rain of flooding, turning off, unplugging, and drying out your electrical devices immediately is imperative. A dry cloth can be used to dry the items, as well as putting them in a well-ventilated area to air out. Heat sources such as hairdryers should be avoided, even on cool settings, as this can cause the water to spread throughout the electronic device, leading to further damage. If your electronics have experienced significant water exposure, consider taking them to a professional electronics repair technician to assess the damage and look at the cost of any associated repairs.