Regardless of where you live, your basement has the potential to become a flooded nightmare. Water can seep in from underneath your home, pipes burst, appliances leak- the possibilities are there. Knowing a little about prevention can help, as does knowing a few tricks to minimize the damages done by a flooded basement.

The first thing that you should do is to have a certified inspector come and give you a thorough basement once over. Make sure that you use an independent inspector, rather than one that is tied in with a dry basement system installer for example. Of course that inspector would find an issue that needs immediate repair- they are trying to drum up more business for their company. The threat of a flooded basement is enough to make most people throw caution to the wind and opt into whatever is being sold. Once the independent contractor has assessed your basement, they can give you a rough estimate of the likelihood that you will have a flooded basement, not including from the burst pipes or leaky appliances, of course. Once you know what the risk for flooding is, you can consider the steps that you would like to take to prevent it.

Make it a routine to check the hoses and connections of the appliances that are in your basement, and do all that you can to insure that your pipes do not freeze. Maintenance and upkeep should be your first line of defense against a flooded basement. Of course, things do happen that can not be prevented or foreseen, so there needs to be a plan of action to follow if you do wake up to a flooded basement.

The first step to follow should be personal safety. In movies and on television, they show people gleefully wading around in their severely flooded basement without a care in the world, but in real life, that might not be very advisable. For one thing, there are electrical appliances in your new "indoor pool" and the chance of being shocked remains high, even if there are no visible sparks. If your breaker box is accessible to you, then shut power off, preferably for the entire basement before you even begin to proceed into the area.

Remember that even if the water is from a potable source, it will have mixed with whatever is on your basement floors and walls. Therefore, do not wade in if you have open or slowly healing sores or a weakened immune system. Once you are in the basement, see if you can pinpoint the source of the water. Has the washing machine conked out and spewed all of its water? If you detect a detergent smell or notice foam or bubbles, you might be onto something. Is the water you are standing in a bit on the warm side? If the answer is yes, check your hot water heater. Some hot water heaters will leak if there is a problem with the thermostat or the heating element. Look at the visible pipes- and see if any of them appear cracked, damaged or outright broken?

Once you have located the cause of your flooded basement, then you can get to work on the drying and repairing process. The first thing you will need to do is get rid of the water, and the easiest way to do that is with a sump pump. (All houses with a basement should have at least a small sump pump on hand just for such an emergency.) Follow the directions carefully for the use of your particular model. After it does its job, you can mop up the remaining water and make note of any damages that may have occurred. If there are any items that need repaired or replaced and the cost is starting to mount up, call your insurance agent, otherwise it might be advisable to proceed on you own.