‘It happens fast’: Higher temps could mean wetter basements

Most homeowners don’t think about basement flooding except when heavy rains come in the spring.

Rike said snowmelt can have the same impact on basements especially in winters like this one, which has had a record amount of snowfall.

Sump pumps work overtime in wet seasons like spring and winter. If they aren’t maintained and give out, it can mean a lot of expense.

Rike said sometimes the maintenance is simple.

“I’ve been in basements where all you had to do was move a little grit out of the way and it started working. But now you have $20,000 worth of damage,” he said.

The Sump and Sewage Pump Manufacturer’s Association recommends a professional inspection of your sump pump annually along with regular maintenance depending on usage:

Rike said the lifespan of a sump pump is directly related to how much it gets used. Some can last for a decade or more, but may need to be changed out as often as every five years if you live in a wet area.

According to the Miami Conservancy District, much of the Miami Valley is built on saturated, sandy, and gravelly ground that lies over the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer, including Dayton, Hamilton, Middletown, Piqua, Troy, Tipp City, Moraine and West Carrollton.

The result is a potentially heavy workload for sump pumps.

“We’re in Springboro quite often,” Rike said.

In spite of the rising temperatures this week, don’t expect all the snow to get washed away any time soon, especially the mounds piled in area parking lots and around the ends of driveways.

According to the State Climate Office of Ohio, it takes a foot of snow anywhere from “several days to a week” to melt when temperatures are consistently around 40 degrees.

The time is heavily dependent on numerous key factors including sunlight, humidity, wind, and the density of the snow.

Sunny and windy conditions can accelerate melting time of a foot of snow to as little as three days, while cloudy or humid days can stretch the time to almost three weeks.

Rain can be either a help or a hinderance, according to the office.

Precipitation on warm days can double the speed at which snow melts. Freezing rains, however, can coat the snow in a protective layer extending its life.

The key is temperature. The longer the temperature is above freezing during a 24-hour period, the faster the snow will melt.

Whether it’s a few days or a few weeks, all the snow will eventually melt away.

So it’s OK to send the kids out to play in the front yard as soon as you see grass, right?

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

“Ideally people should stay off their yards until the turf dries out, but I know that’s easier said that done when you have little ones going stir crazy,” said Marty Grunder, founder and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co.

Don’t lose sleep if the kids do go trapsing all over the lawn while it’s wet, Grunder said.

Compacted or damaged areas can be easily repaired in the spring with soil leveling and reseeding.

Overall, the heavy snow should be a good thing for yards and landscaping, Grunder said.

“The snow insulates plant crowns and protects them during hard freezes, and when the snow melts it provides deep, gradual moisture to the plants, too,” he said.

There are two snow-related problems to watch out for as the grass clears.

Lawn fungal diseases, often called “snow mold,” looks like dry, matted patches of grass. Adding water actually makes it worse.

Most cases improve as the lawn dries out, and problem areas can be treated with an antifungal and reseeding in the spring if needed.

Grunder expects to see a lot of salt damage cases as the snow melts and spring approaches.

“We see this issue every year in planting beds next to sidewalks, parking lots and roadways. this may be a new issue some homeowners see because more salt was needed to keep surfaces safe this winter,” he said.

Grunder said there’s not much to do about it until spring, when you can prune dead pieces, replace plants that are beyond saving, and reseed or sod bare patches of grass.