A flood is often the first thing that enters people’s minds when talking about finding water in the basement. However, flooding, while serious, is a much rare occurrence for basement water clean-up. Instead, there are many more common instances when people will enter a basement and still find water there, sometimes on the floor, sometimes from the walls.

So if flooding is not the only way for water to end up in a basement, what are some of the other causes? Here are a few other circumstances that can lead to a basement taking on water.

Poor Rain Management

One of the most common causes of basement water clean-up comes from the roof. The roof is designed to move the rainwater away from the building in a home or other building functioning as intended. A series of gutters or drains collect water and carry it to a network of pipes that drain several feet away from the structure itself.

However, if gutters become obstructed with leaves or animal nesting materials, this can cause water to flow directly down the wall of a building into the ground beside the structure. If this happens, the water can penetrate through walls, staining and discoloring them, and, during heavy rainstorms, accumulate on the floor. This is irritating for the owners of unfinished basements but will require spending money on repair work for those with finished basements.

Hydrostatic Pressure

During extremely heavy periods of rain, the ground can become “supersaturated” with water. When this happens, the water, being semi-solid, exerts pressure on everything around it, including the floor of the basement it is directly under.

Hydrostatic pressure is when there is so much water and so much pressure that the water forces itself through every crack, open space, or other structural vulnerability in concrete. It almost appears to be water coming from nowhere, rising out of the ground.

Loose Soil

Sometimes the cause of water getting in a basement is not because there is too much water in the area, but because the soil around a building isn’t dense enough. For example, when a basement is excavated for the foundations of a home or other structure, the soil is dug out. Then it is “backfilled,” that is to say, some of it is put back in place around the building once the foundation and basement construction is complete.

However, compared to the original soil that lay there undisturbed for millennia, this soil is less dense, looser, and more absorbent. This means that when moisture such as rain or snow accumulates, the soil if poorly backfilled, can absorb much higher amounts of water than average. This forces water through walls and the floor of the basement.

Contact Dry Patrol For Basement Water Dry Out In The Columbus, OH Area

If you find that water is getting into your basement and you’re not sure what the cause is, you probably need an assessment of water damage for your home.

Contact us to conduct an inspection to see how the water is getting in and why it’s happening and determine the right course of action to repair the damage and prevent more water from coming in again.