After rain, here’s how to check for water damage to your home

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - With the recent rainfall in the Wichita area, it’s important to check your sump pump or your foundation for water damage. We talked with two professionals about what to look for to make sure your home is in good shape.

When there’s heavy rainfall, a working sump pump is a must - if your house has one.

When Dylan Hagen and his family bought a home in northeast Wichita a few years ago, they got a good deal. But there was a reason behind that.

“After the first rain, I saw how much water came in and I was like, ‘I’m not going to deal with this anymore,’” said Hagen, a system design specialist at Thrasher Foundation Repair.

So they put some money into waterproofing their basement.

That included a sump pump, which keeps the water out even when the power is off, and save their family some money - and headaches - in the process.

“Water can cause air quality (problems),” Hagen said. “You don’t want water in your house to come into that. That or you’re cleaning up all the time. Worst of all, you don’t clean it up and it causes more issues with breathing.”

The prolonged dry weather we’ve had caused the ground to crack in places, which plumber Jay Loibl, the owner of JL Plumbing & Home Repair, can cause cracks in your foundation as well.

“With as dry as it is, the ground shrinks, everything pulls back, pulls away from the foundation,” Loibl said. “You look around, you’ve got big cracks in the ground, you’ve got a big gap right next to the concrete foundation. That water is doing to zip right down along the foundation.”

One way to help with that is to clean your gutters of leaves and other debris, and to protect downspouts away from your house, about 10 feet out.

If you’re looking to spot water damage, Hagen said to look for dark spots on your concrete surface or white chalky substance.

“It’s usually not a one-time incident that would cause damage to a foundation,” Loibl said. “It’s prolonged lack of maintenance.:”

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