If you are like most of the population in Hamilton, you probably cannot wait for the spring thaw to come and it cannot come soon enough. Long, cold, harsh winters in the city can drive people absolutely crazy. Those first warming temperatures and the sound of trickling water outside. It can put a smile on people’s faces and a spring in their steps as the warmer season finally arrives.
Spring Thaw Can Bring Flooding
There are other people that are extremely happy when spring starts, and that is the plumbing industry! It is one of the busiest times of years for all of us in Hamilton. Why is it such a busy time of year you ask? Because of flooding! The amount of phone calls we get once there is a big warm-up is dramatic. If your home is situated in the area that cannot contain the amount of spring runoff or your home is not equipped to manage it, you are in trouble. Here are a few tips and tricks to make sure that you are not one of the many people calling us in a panic because your basement is flooding.
Tips To Help Handle The Spring Thaw
Moving snow away from the foundation of your Hamilton property is a great place to start. Especially around window wells and areas of dipped elevation close to your home. The less chance that water has to get into your home, the better. Secondly, one of the most important things that you can do is make sure that your sump pump is in excellent working condition and you have a battery backup in place, especially if you are in an area that gets power outages easily. If your sump pump is not an optimal working condition your basement will flood. You can test your sump pump yourself or have a qualified plumber come and do it for you.
Check Your Pipes
Every once in a while, you may have a pipe will have frozen and will have stayed frozen under the deep freeze in Hamilton. Unfortunately, you may not know that it has frozen until it thaws and it bursts. Sometimes it’s a minor pinhole that can be repaired very easily but sometimes the damage can be rather catastrophic! Taking a good visual inspection throughout your house as the spring thaw starts is an excellent idea to avoid any serious issues down the line. Easy culprits are poorly insulated pipes along exterior walls and pipes leading to the garden house outside or in the garage.
