Plumbers Direct Tips 

Clear your roof gutters

The gutters on your roof can become blocked with leaves and other debris that will prevent water from flowing during a big storm. 

 Clearing this debris will:

• Encourage water to drain from your roof the way it is supposed to
• Prevent insects, vermin and animals from nesting in your gutters
• Stop excessive water flow from destroying your garden

When your gutters are blocked, the rain that falls from your roof will have nowhere to go. As a result, it can damage your roof and in a worst-case scenario, get into your walls. Clogged gutters can also cause water to run down the outside of your home and damage its foundations. This can cost a great deal of money to repair.

It’s best to do this job regularly, even if it’s just to keep rats and pests at bay. If a storm is forecast, clear the gutters before the rain hits so you don’t find yourself trying to climb a ladder and remove soggy leaves and sticks during wet weather.  

Stormwater Drain Maintenance

Making sure your stormwater drain is clear from debris will allow water to drain from your property and help you to prepare for a flood. 

To check, block the drain opening on the street and spray a hose into your stormwater drain. Once it is full, remove the blockage, creating a rush of water that should clear debris. 

This assures your stormwater drain is clear and that drainage is optimised.

Hopefully, your property has areas of soft soil that will soak up rainfall from a storm. If there is nothing but concrete, you risk there being so much water that the stormwater drain overflows and the water has nowhere to go but inside your home. 

Prepare Your Home

If you know that imminent rains may cause flooding, you should prepare your home to minimise damage.

As much as possible, take care of the following: 

• Move all valuables to higher shelves or upstairs (if you have a second floor)
• Carry what furniture you can upstairs
• Move linen and cushions so they are less likely to get wet
• Take rugs and floor mats upstairs or put them high up
• Move electrical items to higher shelves or upstairs
• Secure objects that are likely to float and cause further damage
• Relocate all waste, poisons and chemicals to higher ground
• Turn off the power at the main switchboard
• Look around the garage and garden for items that need to be secured
• Make sure your pets can get to higher ground if you can’t take them with you
• Pull out lower drawers and put them up high (or empty them)

 You can try putting sandbags around your property to prevent flood damage but this will depend on timing and what you have access to.