MISSION HILLS, Kan. — After heavy rains in the Kansas City area on Tuesday, many homeowners woke up the next day to find water in their basements.
On Wednesday morning, many crews were at those homes, working to dry out basements.
Craig Collins, president of AFC Cleaning and Restoration, said that after heavy rains, time is of the essence and homeowners should waste no time in getting the water out of basements.
Collins said there are many reasons why water can seep into a house.
"Gutters are the number one issue that we find,” Collins said. “In the last few days, this rain, it's been gutters being filled up. They were flooding around and the downspouts just can't take care of it.”
Collins said that in addition to maintaining gutters, homeowners should look around their house to prevent flooding.
"Something that gets forgotten a lot is around the foundation,” he said. “Looking for that gap between the last time the house was painted and the sod or the soil around the bottom. If you see more concrete than you do paint, it’s probably an indicator that you need more soil.”
While it may seem like an easy task to do, Collins said that many homeowners forget to plug in their sump pump.
"The number one thing preventing a flooding is making sure that your sump pump is actually plugged in,” Collins said. “We get called out a lot of times to 4-5 inches of water in a basement, and we walk over and the sump pump is literally not even hooked up.”
Collins said many sump pumps have three-year warranties. After that, it's time to get a new one — or at least have it checked regularly.
Collins also said there is a misconception about flood insurance and basement flooding. He urges homeowners to make sure their insurance policy covers sump pump failure and water backup. If not, he recommends calling the insurance company.
