As Rain Keeps Falling, More Homeowners Seeing Water Come Up Into Basements
May 28, 2019, 6:42 PM | Updated: 6:43 pm
DRAPER, Utah — We all know we need the water in Utah.
However, you can’t blame anybody if they’re ready for more sun to poke through those rain clouds.
Especially when all the rain starts becoming a problem.
“Yeah, you’re going to get some seepage,” said Tony Wilde.
Tony Wilde, Utah Disaster Kleenup
Wilde works for Utah Disaster Kleenup, a restoration company, and said more people are starting to call them about water getting basements.
It’s not because something in their home broke — it’s because of all the rain causing an over-saturated ground where water has nowhere else to go.
It starts to seep into some basements through cracks in the foundation.
All this rain lately has the ground so saturated, there's nowhere for water to go. It's starting to seep into basements because of the rising water table. We'll have a story on what restoration companies have been busy doing to fix it all on @KSL5TV tonight at 6. #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/LPxXatwwUN
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) May 28, 2019
“Because we haven’t had any drying spells to draw some of that out, the water table just keeps rising because we’re just putting more and more water into the ground,” said Wilde.
The unfortunate part is there’s really nothing you can do to prevent it.
One tip is to keep down spouts from rain gutters from spilling close to your foundation.
Wilde even suggests using a sump pump in window wells where water collects.
However, catching the problem as quickly as possible could keep a small problem from getting bigger.
“What you want to try and do is be vigilant in checking your basement as far as looking for those wet spots, pulling the carpet back, pulling the carpet pad,” said Wilde. “The biggest thing is to get it away from the water because the pad actually radiates the water everywhere.”
Catching the water in time is important because, if left unchecked, wet carpet, wood and dry wall could cause mold to grow.
In some cases, pieces of the drywall may need to be cut.
“That keeps everything open so you don’t get mold,” said Wilde. “We’re able to dry it with fans and make sure that mold doesn’t keep creeping up somewhere further in the house. The damage, if we get to it early, can be very minimal.”
It’s also natural to want to replace your pad and carpet right away if it’s wet.
However, Wilde says you should wait until Mother Nature is done bringing rain before putting everything back just in case more rain keeps falling.
“Unfortunately, she’s not allowing that, so you just have to be patient and let the drying process take its time.”
