Question: Short of re-grading the area around my building or moving it to a higher elevation, how can I prevent flooding in my building during hurricanes and other big storms?
Answer: Audit your facility to look for areas where water could get in and invest in the right product before a big storm hits to prevent flooding and other damage.
Here’s a look at the top five products our customers use to prepare for storms and prevent flooding:
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- Absorbent socks: Socks snuggle up against dock doors, windows, patio and sliding glass doors to create a dike that helps prevent water from seeping in from the outside. Because they’re absorbent, they’ll also keep the water that tries to trickle in from creating a slippery puddle.
- Leak diverters: Storms are a prime time for discovering that there’s a hole in a roof. Unfortunately, it’s usually not the best time to fix the problem. Leak diverters catch and channel unwanted water to a bucket or floor drain until the problem can be properly addressed.
- Water-filled containment booms: Like dikes, water-filled booms channel or pool rainwater without absorbing it. They are less expensive than dikes, but do not have a 100% water-tight seal. Instead, they rely on the weight of the boom to keep water from passing.
- Quick dam barriers: Quick dam barriers, also known as “waterless sandbags,” contain a super absorbent polymer that swells when it comes in contact with water. The nice thing about them is that they don’t take up a much space as sand bags and aren’t heavy like sand bags when dry. When quick dam barriers are wet, they form an effective wall to stop the spread of water.
- Dikes: Sometimes, you just need to channel or pool water, not absorb it. That’s where dikes come in handy. They stick to the floor, creating a water-tight seal, which allows water to pool so that it can be vacuumed or channel it to a floor drain.
Each hurricane season, we get an uptick in the number of calls from businesses, condominium and home owners looking for convenient ways to keep water out of dock doors, patio entrances, basements and other low-lying areas. The situation is usually the same: the storm is coming now.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do when a storm will hit in a couple hours, but you can’t get product for another week. That’s why it’s important to prepare for storms ahead of time.
You tell us: What does your company do to keep water out of buildings during storms?
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