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A wet basement is often caused by poor grading and clogged gutters

Hydrostatic pressure occurs by (negative pitch) soil sloping toward your home, and water presses against the basement walls, causing the weight against the walls to exceed their capacity. Bowing walls occur most often due to the force of hydrostatic pressure. During the winter months, the ground freezes, and the expanding water in the soil will press the soil against basement walls. The soil will lose water in the spring and summer months and shrink - freezing and thawing of soil cause inward and outward movement on basement walls. Waters Basement Services can correct negative pitch by installing window wells and re-grading with topsoil. Correcting negative pitch is what Waters Basement Services, Inc. calls the first line of defense to help shed water away from your foundation.

The second most important line of defense is to have your gutter water shed away from your foundation. The fall season brings rain and leaves falling. Keeping your gutters clean and free of debris is one of the first lines of defense to help keep your basement dry. When gutters become clogged, rain and snowmelt cannot flow freely throughout the gutter system, resulting in overflowing gutters. Overflowing gutters that spill over the side cause water to collect along the foundation. When this happens, water can end up pooling around a home's foundation. Over time this repeated overflow from your gutters will cause a trench the length of your gutters, not allowing water to shed away from your basement foundation. In addition, the saturation of the soil can cause water to enter your basement.

Gutters and downspouts need to be free of debris flow freely, and the downspout; need to empty away from the basement foundation. Because leaves don't fall all at once, it may be necessary to clean your gutters and downspouts more than once a season. Waters Basement Services recommends you have your gutters inspected at least four times a year.