'Look up before you look down': Flood prevention tips from the pros

Kirk MacLeodpulled a fist-sized ball of dead leaves out of the rain gutter he was cleaning Tuesday morning.

After sub-zero temperatures the night before, the gutter clogwasfrozen solid.

"After winter, make sure your downspouts are cleaned out," said MacLeod, owner of Keir MacLeod, an Island-based vinyl siding company. "It's frozen right now so it's just a big ball of rock ice. Sometimes it is very hard to get out."

As heavy rain sweeps toward the Island, MacLeodis taking stock ofthe houses he's working on, to make sure the eavestroughs will do their job.After scooping debris out of the gutters along the edge of the roof, he turned his attention to the downspouts.

The longer the better, to keep water away from the foundation.

Working gutters help prevent flooding

"Two feet minimum," said MacLeod."Alot of the times we recommend people put a sewer pipe on this time of the year ... itjust extends your gutter out from the house a little bit more."

MacLeodbelieves rain gutters are the first line of defence against a flooded basement.

"Look up before you look down," he said.

Josh Farquharsonsees things from the basement up. As general manager of ServiceMaster P.E.I., a restoration company, he's seen his share of water damage.

"The main thing with this type of weather event is to make sure sump pumps are working properly," said Farquharson. "Make sure they're free of any debris in the hole. Just let them run and do their thing."

Farquharson recommends homeowners take a look at their sump pumps, and manually lift the "float" to mimic the action of rising water, to ensure the motor and pump are functioning.

A working sump pump will kick into action when the float is lifted a sufficient distance.

Back-up sump pumps are also an option. They are battery-operated pumps that take over flood-prevention duty if the power supply to the home is interrupted.

"We're seeing them a little more in recent years with the power outages we've had but they're still few and far between," said Farquharson.

Items stored in flood-prone basements should be stored in water-tight bins, not cardboard boxes, and stored above floor level if possible, Farquharson said.

If water does start to fill the basement, homeowners should get busy right away, with buckets and mops.

Clean up water as quickly as possible

"It's up to homeowners to mitigate the loss. Start doing some clean up right away if you can," said Farquharson.

Both Farquharson and MacLeod saidthey expectto be busy with repairs and restorations in coming days as a result of the heavy rain in the forecast.

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