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As a homeowner, it’s crucial to be proactive in protecting your home during the summer months when the risk of flooding is high. With increased rainfall summer poses a higher threat of flood damage than other seasons. Understanding the risks of summer flooding can help you protect your home if a flood happens in your area. 

Why Summer Has A Higher Flood Risk

Summer brings several factors that increase the risk of flooding. First, the summer months often have more rainfall, which can overwhelm drainage systems and lead to local flooding. Further, the Atlantic hurricane season peaks during summer, bringing heavy rain and potential storm surge, resulting in widespread flooding across the region. Finally, sudden and intense summer thunderstorms can trigger flash flooding, particularly in areas with inadequate drainage. Being aware of these summer risks helps you take proactive steps to protect against potential flood damage.

How Summer Flooding Can Damage Your Home

There are many ways summer flooding damages your home, including:

• Structural Damage: Floodwaters can compromise the structural integrity of your home, leading to foundation issues, wall damage, and even structural collapse.
• Electrical System Damage: Water infiltration can damage electrical systems, posing a risk of electrical hazards, short circuits, and fires.
• Mold Growth: Excess moisture from flooding creates an ideal environment for mold and mildew, leading to potential health problems and costly mold remediation.
• Toxic Contamination: Floodwaters can carry contaminants, such as bacteria, chemicals, and sewage, posing health risks and requiring professional cleaning and disinfection.
• Damaged Appliances: Floodwaters can irreparably damage appliances, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, resulting in expensive replacements.
• Disruption Of Utilities: Flooding can disrupt essential utilities, such as water supply, electricity, and gas, making your home temporarily uninhabitable.
• Erosion: The force of floodwaters can erode the soil around your home, affecting the stability of the foundation and landscaping.

Although not all damage from flooding is preventable, you can take steps to reduce damage. 

Six Steps To Protect Your Home From Summer Flooding

Taking proactive measures is essential to safeguard your home from summer floods:

1. Understand The Risk To Your Home: Research your area’s flood zone maps and the likelihood of flooding. Stay updated on weather forecasts and local flood warnings.
2. Secure Important Documents: Store important documents, such as insurance policies, identification papers, and financial records, in a waterproof and easily accessible location.
3. Maintain Gutters: Clear debris from gutters and ensure downspouts direct water more than six feet away from the foundation. This prevents water from pooling around your home.
4. Install Sump Pump and Backflow Valves: Consider installing a sump pump to remove excess water. Additionally, install backflow valves on sewer lines to prevent sewage backup during floods.
5. Elevate Valuables: Raise valuable items, including electronics, appliances, and furniture, above the potential flood level. Consider using sturdy shelving or moving things to the upper floors.
6. Seal Foundation Cracks: Inspect your home’s foundation for cracks and seal them with appropriate sealants to prevent water seepage.

While these steps are essential for flood protection, it is crucial to remember that flooding can still occur despite all precautions. In the event of a summer flood, immediate action is necessary.

The sun is finally back, and we are heading into the beautiful summer days. When you are prepping your home for this seasonal change, make sure to take some steps to prevent water damage. Although Spring carries the most water damage risks, there are also risks to your home in the summer.

Understanding these risks can help you plan water damage mitigation strategies to protect your home…

Heavy Rainstorms

In this area, Summer often brings intense rainstorms. Heavy rainstorms can lead to flash floods, overflowing gutters, and basement leaks. Excessive rainfall can also overwhelm drainage systems and infiltrate homes, causing water damage to basements, foundations, and lower levels.

Sewer System Backup

Summer rainfall can also overload local sewer systems, leading to sewer backups. When the sewer lines become overwhelmed, sewage can back up into homes through drains, toilets, or basement plumbing fixtures. Sewage water contains contaminants and poses serious health risks. If you experience a sewage backup, call a water damage restoration expert asap.

Sprinkler System Malfunctions

Many homeowners use sprinkler systems during the summer to keep their lawns and gardens well-watered. However, if installed or misused, they can lead to water damage. For example, broken sprinkler heads, damaged pipes, or misaligned drip lines can lead to water pooling, erosion, or oversaturation around the property. Further, misdirected sprinklers or excessive overspray can lead to water damage on exterior surfaces, including siding, decks, or windows.

Air Conditioner Leaks

Air conditioning units work overtime in the summer months to keep homes cool. However, if the condensation lines or drain pans become clogged or damaged, you may experience water leaks. These leaks can lead to water damage to walls, ceilings, and flooring, as well as potential mold growth if not addressed promptly.

Basement Humidity

Increased humidity levels during the summer can contribute to moisture buildup in basements. In addition, poor ventilation or inadequate insulation can lead to condensation on walls, floors, and windows. This buildup of excessive moisture can lead to water damage and promote mold growth.

Foundation Cracks

Expanding and contracting soil due to temperature fluctuations in the summer can cause stress on a home’s foundation. This stress may lead to cracks or gaps in the foundation walls, allowing water to seep in during heavy rainfall. Foundation cracks can cause structural damage and increase mold and pest risk.

Water Damage During Vacations

Summer break is the perfect time for families to take a vacation. Unfortunately, things can sometimes go wrong while you are away. Plumbing leaks, appliance malfunctions, or storms can cause significant water damage and even household flooding if no one is present to address them promptly.

Remember, if your home does experience water damage this summer, our experts are always here to help. The team sent to your property will not just clean and restore your home from water damage. They will find the source of the water damage and make a plan so it doesn’t happen again. Call us to learn more. We’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.

Experiencing a fire in the home is both frustrating and traumatic. No one wants to go through such a serious ordeal, but fires happen quite frequently, even when property owners have smoke and fire detectors installed. Once a fire occurs inside the home and it gets put out by the firefighters, there may be a combination of both fire and water damage going on throughout the building. The water can cause damage to the floors, walls, and other areas of the home, making it a challenge to get everything cleaned up and restored.

Call a Restoration Company

The first thing that a property owner should do when dealing with both fire and water damage is to call a professional restoration company. It is never a good idea to attempt to tackle this type of damage on your own. The process of removing soot, smoke odors, and excess water is something that takes time and a step-by-step process that most people without experience would not know how to handle. You could end up spending a lot of your time trying to remove water from the home only to realize that you have so much more to do to get your property to look good again.

When you hire a professional restoration company, you know that the people coming to your home to help with the fire and water damage are experienced and know what they are doing. After all, helping people with the restoration process is something they do for a living. One of the very first things these professionals will likely need to do is assess the damage. They need to know what they are dealing with before they even get started because then they can make sure to bring all the necessary equipment to help with restoring the home.

There is a lot of work involved in the restoration process. Excess water must be removed from the home and then the damp areas must be dried out completely. If those damp areas continue to stay wet, mold will begin growing, creating a hazardous living situation for everyone in the home. Even after the water and the excess moisture is removed from the property, there are still several things that the professionals will need to do, such as removing soot and getting rid of the smoke odor. The odor of smoke is often overpowering and can make it difficult for people to breathe freely and clearly when it continues to linger in a home.

Whenever you are dealing with fire and water damage inside the home, you should rely solely on the professionals to help you restore your home back to the condition it was originally in before the fire occurred. The restoration job is not the kind of thing you are going to want to do on your own because it requires a lot of work and the use of the right equipment. The professionals know what they are doing and will follow several essential steps to ensure that you can live comfortably in your home again.