Nothing quite compares to the frustration of dealing with a wet basement. It damages walls and flooring, and ruins important things like photo albums and family keepsakes. There are many solutions out there to ensure you never have to experience this frustration. Some work, some don't. But even before you start looking for professional help there are some ways to help yourself.

Let's start by identifying where the water comes from. It could be surface water running down the walls, through cracks, or through basement windows. Groundwater that pushes into the seam where the floor meets the wall by hydrostatic pressure is a common problem. Storm sewer water backing up into the home via drains can cause some major issues during high rain times. Lastly sanitary sewer water from the either your sewer system or that of the city or county you live in backing up into your home.

In this article we are going to deal with surface water. As our estimators visit with homeowners, problems of this nature are very common.

Controlling surface water doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. Next time you get a heavy rain take note where the water pools or runs around your house. Are the gutters overflowing because of leaves and debris? Are the gutters overflowing because they aren't large enough? Any gutter overflow is a bad deal because while it may not be causing water in your basement yet, you can be for sure it will cause foundation settlement issues in the future. (The kind of thing that causes your sheetrock and brick to start cracking)

Do the downspouts get the water far enough away from your home? You need a minimum of 10 feet away from the home. Make sure they aren't draining into your footing drain system. That is another issue that was fairly common practice on older homes.

Make sure the ground around the home is sloping away from the structure. (Many professionals refer to this as positive grade.) If you have holes or sloping toward the house either get dirt hauled in or hire a landscaper to come and help with your yard.

A little common sense goes a long way in treating this problem. Basement Systems Dealers like Basement Systems of Ohio has solutions to guarantee a dry basement from interior drain systems like Waterguard all the way to handling humidity. But before you call your local dealer, check out the things we mentioned above ? because most likely the estimator that comes to visit you will ask you those very questions.