Floods are not something that happens rarely, and the statistics have shown that every year more than 70 thousand people in the United States alone lose their homes because of floods. Our contributors at Elite Moisture Solutions indicate that the vast majority of their business comes from mold or flooded crawl spaces and basements where flooding occurred. There can be many reasons for them, and the most common ones include leaky or burst pipes in the home, poor drainage, malfunctioning home appliances, and of course, the weather.
Some of these damages can be prevented, while with others, the best thing we can do is rely on the devices and units we have in our houses and hope they are going to protect us, our families, and our property. In this article, we are going to talk about one of these devices – the sump pump, and how it can prevent flooding under your house.
Continue reading if you want to learn what you need to do to keep your basement and crawl space dry, and how to prepare for any situation that might lead to flooding.
Why do you need one?
Before we explain how pumps work, and what they can do for you, let’s first see if you need one. If you have a basement or a crawl space in your home, then you already know how hazardous these places can be. We usually tend to ignore them, and we ignore the moisture and the water in them.
With time, they can lead to flooding, or they can grow mold. There are many types of mold that will endanger your health, and you risk diseases like asthma, allergies, or chronic headaches. In addition to this, the water trapped in these spaces can damage the foundations of the home. So, when you move into a new place, or when you check your home, you need to make sure these two spaces are insulated or taken care of. If you’ve added ventilation or concrete to the crawl space, chances are, you don’t need to invest in a sump pump.
If you haven’t thought about your crawl space before, and if you have done nothing to prevent molding or moisture, then you need to check it as soon as possible. It is said that if you start noticing issues it may already be too late, so you need to act and protect your house before the problems arise.
Go to your crawl space and see if has that wet and musky smell. Check to see if it is damp, and check if there is mold. If you notice any of these things, and if this part of the house is not completely dry, chances are, you need to get this equipment.
The sump pump will prevent water from gathering in the crawl space or in the basement, and even if there is water, it will make sure that it doesn’t stay there and it will pump it out from your property.
How do they work?
Now let’s talk about how these devices work, and what you need to install one in your home. The first thing you need to know is that there are two main types of these devices, one that works on batteries, and one that can be plugged into the electrical socket. It is said that most of the basements and crawl spaces already have at least one electrical outlet, so you should have no issues installing these devices under your house. However, if you cannot find the outlet, or if there isn’t one under your house, then you can just get the battery-powered unit.
The way these devices work is that they wait for the water to get collected beneath your house, and then they pump it out. This helps prevent any water from gathering in the basement or the crawl space, and with that, they stop the flooding even before it happens.
In the past, these units were directly connected to the sewers, but nowadays that is restricted because the excess water may clog or overload the sewer system. So, if you want to install this device in your home, it is said that you need to either have a dry well that will collect all the excess water, or you will need to have an area outside of your home that will allow the water to just flow away from your house.
When it comes to the number of units that you need in your home, it all depends on the size of your property, and the overall condition of it. If you have had issues with flooding before, and if there have been issues with the plumbing system, then you may want to choose two separate devices. One of them will be the main one, and that one is usually connected to the electrical outlets, and the other one should be battery-powered and act as a back-up generator in case there are power outages. On the same note, if you experience power outages more often than not, it may be the best option for you to invest in a battery-powered device.
In case you don’t have any issues with moisture, and if you just want to be on the safe side, and make sure you’ve done everything you can to keep your home safe, then you don’t usually need more than one unit below your house.
Final words
Know that even though these devices will do an amazing job in preventing flooding, there are still some other things you can do to keep your house safe.
You should think about investing in proper ventilation for the crawl space or the basement that will keep the space dry, you should always encapsulate these places, and you should also think about installing moisture barriers. Remember that these additional protection measures will not only prevent moisture and water from gathering in your home, but they will also protect you from insects, pests, and small animals.
Nowadays, there are a lot of different options when it comes to sump pumps, so you can easily find one that fits your requirements and your budget. Most of these units can be installed without any issues, and you can do that on your own. In case you have trouble placing them, or getting them to work, you can always contact a professional service that will help you choose the right unit for your home, and that will help you with the installation process. Always choose to stay safe and prevent hazardous situations before they occur than to invest in different units and devices after you notice the problems that can happen if something goes wrong.