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Wet Basement Floor: Do It Yourself Prevention Tips

Wet basements are more than just an annoyance.  A wet basement floor can cause damage to your home, belongings and furnishings, costing you time, money and even possessions. The American Society of Home Inspectors estimates 60 percent of U.S. homes have wet basements, which can seem outrageous when you consider that many preventative actions are of the do-it-yourself variety. Waterproofing.org put together a fairly comprehensive list of tips for homeowners, and we’d like to share some of the more effective ones with you below.  As basement waterproofing professionals, we can attest to their effectiveness in ensuring your home stays dry:

  • Slope your ground away from home – Lawns that are flat or slope towards your home can drain surface water downward against basement walls.  To solve this problem, slope the ground away from the outside foundation approximately one inch per foot, and extend the slope for at least ten feet.  If a large area of land slopes toward the house, work to redirect surface drainage using a drainage ditch or depression.
  • Clean, repair and install gutters and downspouts – Non-existent gutters – or gutters that become clogged – allow roof water to form puddles and wet soil against basement walls.  If you haven’t already, install gutters and downspouts.  If you already have gutters and downspouts, keep debris away by manually cleaning them.
  • Avoid planting dense shrubbery around basement walls – Denseshrubbery block ventilation around basement walls.  Make sure if you do have dense shrubbery, to trim it so that soil gets more sunlight and dries quicker.

Of course if you’re having larger problems that preventative actions can’t solve, contact a basement waterproofing professional for help.   Receive the latest wet basement prevention tips from Standard Water Control by following us on Twitter or Facebook