There’s no escaping it: Spring in Minnesota is wet. Either there’s a massive pile of snow melting all over the place, or the ground soaks up the rain like crazy. If you’ve ever accidentally stepped in a pothole-puddle in May, it’s probably not surprising that Spring is the season when flooding poses the greatest risk to Minnesotan houses.

Spring creates the perfect storm of conditions for flooding: the ground thaws, snow melts, and it’s always raining. The result of all this is a lot of water on the ground and in the soil. If your home isn’t prepared, that water could seep into your basement and cause all kinds of problems.

Make Sure the Sump Pump Works

Keeping your sump pump functional is probably the most important way to prevent flooding. Your sump pump should be the lowest point of your home, so that water in the soil will flow down into the sump pump’s “pit.” Once the pit reaches a certain water level, a sensor activates the sump pump. The pump transfers the water in the pit away from your house via a discharge pipe.

Find your sump pump and uncover the pit. Check the water level. If it’s higher than the sensor line inside the pit, there’s something wrong. If the water level isn’t high enough to trip the sensor, dump water into the pit until the sensor should trip. You should hear the pump activate and see the water level drop. If you’re not getting anything, there could be a problem.

Position Downspouts Correctly

Long, windy winters have a tendency to knock downspouts around. If your downspouts are detached from roofing gutters, buried under snow or debris, or damaged, they won’t be able to do their job properly. Without downspouts to transfer water, your home could sustain flooding-related water damage.

Find each of your downspouts and reattach them properly. Make sure the spout is clear so it will let as much water out as possible. Buff out any dents that could restrict flow. Make sure the downspouts are long enough to actually move water away from your foundation. If they aren’t, you’d be trading one kind of flooding for another.

Clear Drains and Gutters

Roofs are slanted so that falling rainwater slides off of them rather than building up in puddles. Gutters form a perimeter around roofs to catch the rainwater as it slides off. Like roofs, gutters slant so that water flows through them into downspouts. Street gutters work that way, too, except they lead directly to storm drains.

Random debris can choke gutters and drains, preventing proper flow. Water will start to accumulate at the chokepoint, which can lead to strain, flooding, or damage. Clear out your gutters and drains to make sure they’ll work. You can test gutters by simply running water through them and watching it flow.

Sewer Line Inspection

The consequences of an overburdened sewer line can really… stink. Sewer lines transfer wastewater out to either a septic tank or municipal sewer. Water in the ground can damage the sewer line or even crush its piping. A backed-up sewer line could bring gross sewer gas back up into your home. Yuck!

Heavy rain can overload sewers by flooding them with too much water to handle. When that happens the water in your sewer line can’t flow out to the greater sewer system. Then the smells begin. If you suspect your sewer line isn’t doing its job, give us a call right away. We can use fabric optic cameras to find out what inside the pipe is wrong. Then, our experts move in with a fix that will last.

Spring is a great time of year. Flowers are blooming, the sun’s coming out, and it’s even warm enough to walk around outside without fear of imminent death! It’s tough to consider the lilies of the field, however, when you’re waist-deep in flood water.

Get these simple little maintenance steps out of the way, and you could save yourself a major headache in a week or two. And don’t worry: if you find out you have a problem, you can always call us for help. We’ll spring right into action! Get it? …Ok. We’re done. Have a good spring or whatever. We guess.

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