How Basements Become Wet

When your basement is flooded it may seem that nothing can be more traumatic. Your personal and often irrecoverable items can be destroyed by water damage. Items such as family pictures, heirlooms, antique furniture, wedding dresses, and even important personal or business documents are usually kept in a basement and are easily ruined by flooding or excessive moisture.

If your basement is a recreational living area you risk damaging and even ruining very expensive items like furniture, flat screen televisions, expensive stereo equipment, and gaming centers such as Xbox 360. And the increased or almost certain risk of mold damage from a wet basement can be a nightmare to repair.

If you are considering contacting a contractor to repair your wet basement or if you are taking preventative measures to keep your basement dry you should learn a little yourself about how basements become flooded.

Below are the four most basic elements of water damage:

A.) Surface water seeping down your home’s foundation.

B.) Water collecting and saturating your ground soils can be forced into your basement by hydrostatic pressure.

C.) If your foundation drain is connected to the municipal sewer system, storm water can back up into your home’s foundation drain and seep into your basement.

D.) Sewer water from a combined municipal storm and sanitary sewer system can back up causing sewer water to come up through your sink, shower, and floor drains on lower levels of your home.

In addition to the reasons above, some ground surface water sources that may contribute to a wet basement could be roof gutters that need repair, downspouts that do not extend far enough from the home, driveway paving that slants toward your foundation, ground grading that slants toward your foundation, and underground lawn irrigation systems that discharge too much water.

If your basement has recently become wet for the first time you may think it is an isolated phenomenon, but chances are that phenomenon will repeat itself and become a coincidence, and that coincidence may soon develop into a pattern of recurring damage. Seek the advice of an waterproofing expert, often contractor consultations and quotes to prevent your wet basement issues are free.