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Properly Winterizing Your Home Can Prevent Later Flooding

Here in North Vancouver, and anywhere else that sees substantial snowfall, there will always be a lot of reports of home flooding in the spring.  The mountain ice and snow melts and, all too often, it makes its way into the first floor or basement of a house.  Then, the homeowners will be looking at a very substantial cleanup bill.

Of course, you can always call in water damage restoration companies in North Vancouver to take care of the mess… but it would be a lot better for your home finances if you could prevent flooding in the first place.  Here are some suggestions.

Four Ways to Protect Your Basement from Flooding in The Winter and Spring

  1. Shovel regularly

When shovelling snow away from your house, don’t do the bare minimum.  After you’ve cleaned off your driveways and walkways, do a loop around the house, moving snow away from the foundations and any windows that are at ground level.  This will greatly reduce the amount of snow which can make its way indoors.

  1. Extend your drainpipes

Do the drainpipes on your roof gutters just dump the water right next to your house?  That could contribute to flooding whenever the temperatures rise high enough to melt the snow on your roof.  Add extenders to your drainpipes so that they point away from the house and dump the water a few feet away from the foundations.

  1. Clean snow off of your roof

Alternatively, you can try to keep your roof as snow-free as possible, to reduce any flooding from run-off.  Obviously, your roof will be extremely slippery in winter, so please be careful!  You might also consider heating solutions designed to keep your rooftop too warm for snow to pile up.

  1. Help keep the street drains clear

If you have sewer drains on your street, in front of your house, do what you can to keep them free of debris.  If they’re clogged up when the snows melt, that’s going to send the melted water onto your lawn – and potentially into your basement.

For Flooding Cleanup, Call Malkin Cleaners

Malkin Cleaners is one of the top water damage restoration companies in North Vancouver.  We’ve been helping clean up water and fire damage for almost a century, and we’re trusted by generations of Vancouverites.

If you have flood damage, don’t wait – call us to handle the cleanup!