How to Stop Your Basement From Flooding

In this video, damage-prevention specialist Michael Milligan shows how to avoid a soggy disaster.

How to Keep Your Basement from Flooding

1. Standard sump pumps do a good job of removing water from a flooded basement, but they don’t operate during a power outage.
2. Sump pumps equipped with a battery-backup system will continue to run even if the electricity goes out. The rechargeable battery will operate for about seven to 10 hours before recharging is necessary.
3. Water-powered sump pumps rely on water pressure, not a rechargeable battery, to keep pumping during a blackout.
4. A water-powered sump pump will run virtually forever, as long as there’s water pressure. Note that this system is only suitable for homes connected to a municipal water supply, not a well pump.
5. Label the water-main shutoff valve, and then be sure that everyone in the family knows how to find and close the valve in case of an emergency.
6. A water-leak detector is useful in detecting and then alerting you that there’s a leak.
7. A whole-house leak detector uses wireless transmitters that can be placed throughout the house to detect and then automatically shut off the water in event of a leak.
8. A programmable auto-shutoff leak detector is designed to detect a constant flow of water, at which point it turns off the water.