After the Blizzard: Preventing Water Damage in your Home

The weatherman is predicting warmer temperatures in the days leading up to New Year's Weekend. While the sun brings the promise of safer roads and less shoveling, it also brings with it potential disaster. When a large amount of snow melts rapidly the resulting flooding can wreak havoc on basements everywhere.

Paul Plouffe, President of ServiceMaster of Greater Bridgeport and Certified Indoor Air Quality Manager, has the following tips to help Fairfield County homeowners prepare for flooding before it happens:

1.       Move everything to higher ground. Get boxes, bags and Christmas decorations off of the basement floor and onto a shelf, other raised surface or just move things upstairs.

2.       Make sure that your sump pump and dehumidifiers are working properly.

3.       Get a back up for your sump pump. You can find a reasonably priced unit at Home Depot or Lowes. A miser pump only costs about $20.

4.       Your gutters and leaders should be free of ice and pointed away from the house.

5.       If you see water leaking in around the perimeter of the basement, wick it away with towels and focus a fan on the affected area.

If you need professional help, ServiceMaster of Greater Bridgeport is on-call 24/7, 365 days a year. Call 1-203-386-1565 for emergency service. Here's to a safe, flood-free and very Happy New Year!

ServiceMaster of Greater Bridgeport has provided professional residential and commercial disaster restoration to Fairfield county for over 25 years.