Rainwater that drains under your house can flood your basement or lowest housing level and cause mold to grow. The damp conditions can even bring termites into the house, causing further damage to its structure. Fortunately, stopping rainwater from draining under your house is a fairly simple process. It may even lower your water bill by allowing you to use captured or diverted rainwater to irrigate the lawn, flowers and other ornamental plants in your yard.
What can you do to keep this damage from happening? Here are some tips.
1. Ensure the soil is graded to slope away from the house. Soil that slopes toward the house traps water by the foundation, and flat ground doesn’t channel water away. The ground should slope downward away from the house for at least 5 feet, with a minimum 5 percent grade, which translates to sloping at least 3 inches over the course of 5 feet.
2. Install a rainwater catchment system. This not only keeps rainwater from harming your foundation and saturating the area around your home but also gives you free water to use around the house and yard. Plus, reducing storm water runoff with a rain barrel keeps household pollutants from being carried into the water system, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Simply place a rain barrel with a screen under the end of the downspout of your gutter so that rain naturally falls in. Don’t consume the water unless you’ve had it thoroughly tested for harmful substances, because surfaces the water comes into contact with may contaminate it.
Here in Bloomington, Il we have a great resource in the Ecology Action Center. Here is a link to their information on constructing rain barrels. Rain Barrels – Ecology Action Center
3. Add an extender to each downspout. An extender reaches out beyond the roof to channel rainwater away from the house. It must channel the water at least 4 to 6 feet away from the house to be effective (see Reference 1, page 73). Alternatively, place a splash guard below the downspout to keep the falling water from eroding the soil in one spot.
4. Install storm drains. These pipes are placed beneath the surface of the soil, and they divert storm water away from the home when the ground becomes saturated. Position the drains to carry water to a garden or other appropriate location. Surround them with gravel, and cover them with filtering fabric to keep solid particles out. Check the drains regularly to ensure they haven’t become clogged.
If your basement floods, True Clean is available 24 X 7 for all your flooding and mold remediation needs. We also clean carpet and ducts (HVAC and Dryer) and remediate fire damage. You can trust True Clean.
- Source: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/stop-rain-water-draining-under-house-79269.html
Rick Canfield
Very smart damage prevention tips! It is indeed important to be prepared because we can never tell if a natural calamity will be very intense.