Melting Snow Can Cause Flooding in Your Valparaiso Home

3/24/2022 (Permalink)

Melting Snow Can Penetrate Valparaiso Basements

Winter brings snow to Valparaiso, and that melting snow can leak into your basement. The ground, frozen during the winter, prevents surface water from being absorbed into the soil. However, when spring arrives, the ground temperature rises, and all of the surface water begins to be absorbed downward which can cause the water to seep into cracks in your basement walls and foundation. Ten inches of snow is equivalent to 1 inch of rainfall which doesn’t sound like much, but one inch of snow produces about 2,700 gallons of water per acre, and this water now has access to the inside of your property.

Flood damage in Valparaiso can result when the masonry used to construct the basement walls of your home eventually allows water to flow in unabated. While french drains can work to provide some diversion, construction in older homes occurred before this became a necessity in home construction. Our SERVPRO professionals can arrive quickly to help you find lasting solutions to the situation and to extract floodwaters from the lower level of the house.

We arrive quickly with all of the extraction equipment we might need from portable electric sump pumps to truck-mounted pumps that remove water very quickly. In these early stages, we also assess the access point for this flood damage to work to seal over these vulnerabilities with hydraulic cement to prevent further exposure and penetration. Once the water has gotten removed, we can focus on drying out the area and determining possible alternative solutions for lasting dryness in the basement.

Lingering moisture causes concern for the formation of mold colonies and other potential risks for your home. It is essential to resolve persistent dampness to protect your investment in the property. We have many solutions from the installation of sump pumps to a permanent dehumidifier in the area, both of which can help to maintain acceptable moisture levels in the problem area of your house.

Melting snow can create excessive pressure on masonry that becomes more and more vulnerable to age. Give our SERVPRO of Porter County response team a call anytime that you experience flood damages at (219) 476-1883.

Click here to see what was included in the city’s 1917 time capsule.