WEST MICHIGAN — As communities around West Michigan flood, FOX 17 takes a look at how property owners can protect their home or business from water damage.
Once water seeps into a property, a sump pump is the first line of defense.
The experts at Arrow Restoration say they’ve seen about 14 “water failures” in just over the past week.
Nearly half were because of faulty sump pumps.
Greg Buzalski provides two useful tips for property owners who are threatened by flooding.
“They need to go down in their basement one, maybe two times a day, be sure that that sump pump is functioning properly,” Bulzalski said.
“Number two, it’s always advisable to put a battery backup sump pump in, that way if they lose power during the storm, they do have a safety of the battery to kick in and have a secondary system,” he continued.
Buzalski says if a sump pump fails, flood damage is typically covered by insurance.
However, if ground water seeps in through cracks and no system is in place, the property owner typically foots the bill.
