Basement flooding is a common problem faced by homeowners that can be exacerbated when heavy rains arrive. Find out common causes.

As a homeowner, you know that there is a lot that can go wrong with your house.

You could get hit by a bad storm that damages your landscape, or maybe black mold starts growing in your home, or you just deal with everyday home maintenance issues.

But there aren’t many home problems worse than a flood. And if your home has a basement, it’s always at risk of flooding. 

In fact, 98 percent of homes with basements will experience some form of water damage of flooding during its lifetime.

Luckily, a lot of the common causes of basement flooding are preventable. You just need to know what to look out for and be proactive with any problems that arise.

Here are some of the most common problems that lead to a basement flood.

Bad Pipes or Sump Pump

Basements contain three main sources for flooding: pipes, the sump pump, and the water heater. If there is something wrong with one of these, your basement may have a flood.

Pipes are at risk of rusting as the age or freezing in cold weather. They can also get damaged and have cracks or holes in them, which will lead to a flood. That’s why it’s important to monitor your pipes, especially if they are old or you’ve recently had a freeze.

If your home uses a sump pump, it means your home needs help keeping up with groundwater so there isn’t a basement flood. Therefore, if your sump pump isn’t working properly it won’t be helping reduce groundwater around your home, which will lead to a flood. 

Monitor your sump pump to make sure it’s functioning as it should so you can avoid a basement flood.

Gutter Debris or Damage

The purpose of gutters it to move water away from your home so it doesn’t flood. They are essential for keeping your basement dry and safe from any water damage.

But your gutters need to be clear if you want them to work as they should. If your gutters are full of debris, or they have broken anywhere, they won’t deter water as they should.

Your gutters need to be cleaned regularly to keep them clear of debris like leaves, pests, and more. Cleaning your gutters can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, so hiring professional gutter cleaners is a great idea.  Click here for more about estimating your gutter cleaning costs.

Poor Basement Sealing

If the walls and floor of your basement are poorly sealed, you can be at a higher risk of a basement flood. Poor sealing can happen when your home is being built, or a good sealing might deteriorate over time.

If your basement has poor sealing, it may flood during severe weather conditions because water can easily seep through the walls and floor.

To prevent this, you can pay attention to your basement after it rains. If you notice a bit of water seeping through the floors or walls, then you need to re-seal your basement before a severe storm hits.

The House Was Built in an Unsuitable Location

If your home was built somewhere that isn’t suitable for a basement, such as a location that often floods, your basement is at risk. 

Also, if your home was built with a poor design in terms of water flow, water may run down to your basement during a heavy downpour. If you suspect this is the case for your home, you need to take extra precaution to prevent your basement from flooding. 

Improperly Installed Drainage System

Your home should have a drainage system installed around it. A drainage system is meant to deter water away from your basement and should block the entry of water into your home.

If this drainage system was improperly installed or is not working properly, then water won’t be drained and can end up flooding your basement.

If your drainage system is not working, it may be due to a weeping tile failure. This happens when a part of the drainage system (a pipe) disconnects or is clogged full of debris. This prevents water from flowing away from the house.

When this happens, the water level will rise and spill out of the sump pump or out of leaks in the foundation into your basement, causing a flood. 

Sewer Backup

One of the worst ways your basement can flood is from a sewer backup. Sewer backups are out of your control and if they happen, wastewater can completely flood your basement if you don’t notice right away. 

When sewers are too full, the water level will rise above the pipes. You may notice dirty waste water coming up through the toilets and sinks. If the water levels continue to rise, the water will spill out into your basement, potentially leading to a flood.

Heavy Downpours or Natural Disasters

While there are precautions set in place to prevent a flood such as a drainage system or sump pump, natural disasters and extreme weather events do happen. When they happen, your basement may be at risk of flooding no matter how well you’ve protected it.

To protect your home investment, it’s important to get flood insurance in case something like this does happen.

Basement Flooding: Take Caution and Be Prepared

While a basement flooding may seem like something out of your control, it’s actually preventable for the most part. As long as you stay on top of issues with your home and you’re proactive, you can prevent a basement flooding before it’s too late.

Enjoy this blog on basement flooding? Be sure to check out the rest of our site even more helpful content!

Looking for a job but the thought of being tied to a chair 9 hours a day makes you cringe? Feeling exhausted of your 9-5 work, but you’re too afraid to quit?

Fret NO MORE.

We have the dream job for all of you cat lovers out there.

A Greek cat shelter for stray cats is looking for a caretaker who would feed 55 cats and hang out with them.

This amazing place is located on the beautiful Greek island called Syros, which is near the famous Mikonos island. This small piece of heaven is populated with roughly 20,000 people and it is a truly amazing place to live.

And one of the most interesting things about this place is the fact that is overpopulated with cats. But luckily, this island is also inhabited by people who care about animals.

So, in an attempt to provide the cats on this island with the help they needed they eventually created a cat shelter which they named God’s Little People Cat Rescue.

The people behind this project are a husband and wife who have been living on the island since 2010. They started by opening the sanctuary on their own and taking care of all the stray cats on this island, but as time passed by and their family became larger, they realized that they need help.

That is why they have an open position for a cat caretaker. They are looking for someone who would feed the cats, take care of them and above all, enjoy spending their time with them. You don’t need special qualifications to get hired here; You only need to love cats and be willing to accept responsibility for 55 cats.

You read it right. 55 cats!

Your main responsibilities would be feeding the cats, giving them plenty of love and attention, taking them to the vet, cleaning after them and of course cuddling them 24/7. But besides being constantly surrounded by these furry friends, the additional perks of being employed at God’s Little People Cat Rescue is living on this beautiful island and having your own tiny cabin with a wonderful view and a magical garden. Last but not least, the salary is $560 US per month.

So, cat lovers, would you quit your job and move here?

If you haven’t watched the GOT finale, there are spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned!

It’s been 2 and a half weeks since the last episode of Game of Thrones aired. Man… I cannot believe that the journey of 10 years has finally ended. As a loyal, diehard fan, it hit me very hard. But I must say that at the same time I felt this sweet relief after the finale.

Because contrary to popular opinion, I loved it. In fact, it’s my belief that it was pitch perfect. Say what you will, but there couldn’t have been a more suitable end for the series.

Why?

First things first, after 8 seasons of slaughter, death, destruction, all for the Iron Throne, we finally get what we deserved. We see the meaninglessness of the throne itself and we finally see for ourselves that absolute power in the hands of one human being is the darkest possible scenario that this world can experience, even if it’s in the hands of our favorite character. Drogon destroying the throne that was once forged by the swords of all the slain enemies and created by the fire of Balerion the Black Dread shows the death of Targaryen dynasty in a just and poetical way.

Ultimately, we witness the destroying of the wheel and the replacing of the tyrannical, bloodied and corrupted ruling with wise, peaceful, reasoned and democratic service. And I won’t lie if I tell you that the sweet rhetoric of breaking the wheel by replacing it with Bran’s wheels touched a part of me. It really did.

It was a bittersweet ending indeed. I cannot describe to you how I felt when I watched Dany’s death. Even though we can all agree that we kind of stopped following her after the 4^th episode, she was our favorite heroine. I loved her until the very end, however, I personally think that her death was one of the most beautiful things about the finale.

She dies in the arms of the man she loves. And it is her death that triggers Drogon to melt the Iron Throne which eventually signifies the destruction of the wheel of corruption.

Jon Snow being Aegon Targaryen is not for nothing. This man was once stabbed to death but brought back to life by The Lord of Light for a reason. However, as it turned out his resurrection was for a far more important cause. In fact, everything that this man had done in his life has eventually led him to kill the woman he loves and with that to finally open the doors to Bran.

There was a theory that popped on Reddit just before the last two episodes aired that explained why Bran will most likely be the ruler of the 7 kingdoms. It associated the most famous quote from Usual Suspects, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist” with the purpose of Bran’s existence.

And after reading some parts of it, I couldn’t agree more. Everything was exactly the way it supposed to be. Every character played a different role, all in favor of the Three-Eyed Raven. They didn’t know that at the time, but every action they took helped the ending of Three-Eyed Raven on the throne come to fruition.  The chain of disastrous events, Dany fighting against the whites, losing her Dragons, Melisandre fulfilling her last task before dying, Cersei beheading Missandei, Dany going completely mad and burning King’s Landing to the ground were all meant to happen for him to take over.

After endless bloodshed and inexplicably extreme greed for power, the world finally got a leader that is fit to truly lead them. The North ended up an autonomous kingdom and they’ve crowned their rightful queen. Tyrion, the last of the Lannister’s and the wisest man alive ended up as the hand of the new king (or shall we say the effective ruler of all kingdoms?). Arya finally got her freedom. Jon Snow went back to where he and his pal (Ghost) always belonged – North of the Wall. Remember, he never wanted to be the man that he was forced to become throughout his life. Bran cannot reproduce which eventually means that the people will continue choosing their leaders by voting. And ultimately, we see culture mixing on the streets of King’s Landing.

The king is finally someone who possesses stories, memories, and histories of the world. Someone who is wise enough to rule and lead people to a brighter future. We see sharing of the power, helping, compromising and listening to one another – something that has never been characteristic about these people. But also, something that we all deserved after such a long and a thrilling journey. A truly, just and happy ending.

An ending that gives hope to the ones that were down in the gutter. An ending that tells a story about the struggle of all the victims that found a way to rise up from the ashes.

You will never walk again, but you will fly.

Merging the fairy-tale world and the world of reality into one is undoubtedly a very hard task, not to say impossible, for most of us. But, for the talented French designer Sylvie Facon, “impossible” is not an option.

Facon creates amazing, unique gowns using the spines of books. Thanks to her remarkable skills and creative and artistic talents, she creates dresses that are out of this world and that can even serve as storytellers.

The dresses vary from romantic lacework to haute couture dresses made from the spines of books, emphasizing the versatility of the skills of the dress designer.

Let’s take a look at some of the dresses created by Facon below, and, please, feel free to tell us what your opinion is on these exceptional works of art in the comments section.

While many of us cannot be bothered to even lift a finger and pick up the garbage right in front of us, Australia is light years ahead of us. Why? Well, because the authorities of the Australian city of Kwinana have developed a new and effective solution to water pollution.

They installed a very simple filtration system in the Henley Reserve. The system contains long nets that are placed on the drainage pipes and collect all the garbage that eventually flows through the waters.

Considering that the pipes drain water from residential areas to natural areas, you can only imagine how extremely important was for them to find a way to capture the trash and protect the environment and the local wildlife from further plastic pollution.

And guess why? They successfully did it!

© Old Castle Infrastructure  

They first installed two of these nets, but after they witnessed the remarkable results (800 pounds of garbage collected within a few weeks), they decided to put this garbage traps all over the city.

© Storm Water Systems  

Even though the installation of these useful garbage traps costs a lot of money ($10,000 each), it turns out that the whole investment was much more profitable and beneficial than they actually expected. By developing this solution, they saved on the costs that they previously had for the people that actually collected that same trash manually.

© Storm Water Systems© Storm Water Systems

© CITY OF KWINANA / FACEBOOK  

As for the process of cleaning the garbage traps, every time they get full, they are taken away by special trucks that collect trash and they are transported to a special trash-sorting center that after that divides them into recyclable and non-recyclable material. When all of that is done, the nets are put back on pipes.

© Storm Water Systems  

This is just proof that if we want to do something, we CAN do it!

Photo credit CITY OF KWINANA / FACEBOOK, Old Castle Infrastructure, Storm Water Systems