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7 Ways You Can Prevent Your Home from Flooding This Winter

Posted on December 1, 2016

sandbags outside a house to protect against floodingLet’s face it, the winter weather is never easy to contend with, and if it’s not freezing cold temperatures and snow, it’s rain – and lots of it. Winter sees countless family homes and businesses washed out as the increase in downpours burst our river banks and break our drains, leading to floods. To help you fight back against the weather this winter, Wildon UK present our 7 ways you can prevent your home from flooding.

Install backflow valves

Modify your pipes with ‘non-return’ valves. These useful additions only allow water to flow one way through a pipe, meaning that if water was to start backing up in the sewers your home is connected to, the water can’t force its way up through your pipes and out of your sink, toilet, bath or other appliances.

Raise your home

If your home is frequently flooding, you may benefit from raising your home completely. Although a major retrofit, raising your property on to piers or columns will raise the lowest level of your home out of water’s way and help keep your home protected. Although this is an expensive course of action to undertake, it is certainly a viable option if you are constantly paying to have your home repaired due to flood damage.

If raising your entire property is a bit too extreme for your requirements, you can simply raise all of the plugs and electrical sockets in your home. While this won’t prevent your home from flooding, it is a good way of minimising the damage your property incurs, making it cheaper and easier to repair your property after the flood water has cleared.

Install foundation vents

Once water has gotten inside your home, it will become trapped, and as the water levels outside continue to rise, so will the water inside your house. To prevent this, install foundation vents. These allow water to flow back out of the property, rather than sitting stagnant. You will need to install at least two vents on two different walls to give your house adequate water flow.

Seal your walls

Bricks tend to be quite porous, which means that they won’t work very well at keeping flooding water at bay. Invest in some sealing coatings to apply to your walls to protect your property, and use as much sealing or waterproof material inside your home as possible; this will help minimise damage.

You should also look to seal up any entry points to your walls, such as air bricks. These are necessary for air flow throughout your house, but come heavy rainfall, they will allow water to flood your home. Shield these entry points with either a stick on cover or permanent fittings that can be clipped down in bad weather.

Invest in water guards

Water guards are essentially a more robust, long-lasting alternative to sandbags, and are much more effective at keeping water at bay. These should be fitted to your doors and around any low windows to help keep your home dry. You can choose to have water guards that you manually put out when a flood warning is issued, or you can install a door with a built-in flood guard. Not only does this give you peace of mind that your property is always protected against unexpected floods whether you’re at your property or not, but insurance companies favour them, helping you to reduce the costs of your premium.

Install a sump pump

A sump pump is a fantastic way to help prevent your home from flooding. Usually installed in the cellar or basement of a property, a sump pump automatically turns on when it detects water and pumps the water up and out of the property, releasing the water to a safe, preplanned area. A sump pump works from the lowest level of your property to keep your home dry, so is a failsafe option for preventing your home from flooding.

Have your drains cleared

Finally, to avoid your property flooding, it is a good idea to check on the conditions of your drains now. Autumn sees a lot of foliage and falling leaves making their way down the drains, which can lead to slow draining or complete blockages – neither of which are ideal when facing heavier than normal rainfall. By ensuring your drains, gutters and downspouts are working optimally, you can be confident that they’ll be able to clear away the increased water flow, rather than causing it to stagnate and build up.

If you’re in need of reliable drainage contractors to help tackle your drainage issue this winter, Wildon UK can help. We offer 24 hours a day, seven days a week call-outs across the UK, promising a prompt service, fantastic results and affordable prices. Get in contact today to find out more.

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