After a heavy rainfall, many homeowners find themselves dealing with a flooded crawl space. A flooded crawl space can cause significant damage to your home and its contents, resulting in costly repairs. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some tips for dealing with a flooded crawl space and how to prevent one from happening again.
Steps To Take When Your Crawl Space Floods
If you have a flooded crawl space, the first thing you should do is make sure it is safe to enter. If the water is still rising or has reached unsafe levels, you should turn off your electricity and gas before entering your basement to avoid potential electrical shocks or fires. Once it is safe to enter, it’s time to start removing the water. You can use buckets or pumps to remove the standing water. Make sure you are wearing protective equipment like boots and gloves when doing this as there may be contaminants in the water that could be hazardous.
Once all of the standing water has been removed, you should begin cleaning up any debris that may have been left behind by the floodwater. This includes items such as furniture, clothes, carpeting, and other personal items that may have been damaged by the flooding. It is also important to thoroughly dry out your basement since moisture can lead to mold growth which can further damage your home. Open windows and use fans or dehumidifiers if necessary until everything is completely dry.
Preventative Measures to Avoid Crawl Space Floods
Once your crawl space has been cleaned up and dried out following a flood, it’s important to take steps so that it doesn’t happen again in the future. Start by checking for cracks in your foundation walls which are one of the most common causes of flooding crawl spaces as they allow water to seep through into your home. If any cracks are found, they need to be repaired promptly by an experienced contractor who specializes in foundation repair work. Additionally, check for clogged drains around your home which can also lead to flooding due to an accumulation of rainwater near your house instead of being diverted away from it properly via drainage systems such as gutters or downspouts. If any drains are clogged, make sure they are cleared out immediately so that rainwater can flow freely away from your house and reduce risk of flooding in the future.
A flooded crawl space can be incredibly damaging both financially and emotionally so taking proper preventative measures is essential for avoiding them altogether. Regularly inspecting your foundation walls and checking for clogged drains around your home will go a long way towards ensuring that another flood does not occur in the future but if worst comes to worst and you find yourself dealing with a flooded crawl space again then follow these steps outlined above for best results.
Kaminski Construction provides foundation and drainage services if you experience a flooded crawl space in Eugene, Oregon. Your home should be properly maintained to avoid disasters. Contact Kaminski Construction to speak with an experienced general contractor. You can reach us by phone at 541-505-7535 or request a quote online.
