Landscaping Tips to Prevent Water Damage
The spring season is just around the corner. So as the weather continues to get warmer, you might be considering landscaping for some new beauties in your garden. However, while you may get busy with planting new bushes and flowers and attending to your little herb garden – it is important to remember that there is more to landscaping than just having a hobby. Keep reading for a few landscaping tips.
Adequate landscaping around the perimeter of your home is essential to avoid water damage on the property grounds. Not only does water damage compromise the curb appeal, but it can often become the reason for secondary problems like mold growth, etc. Therefore, you have never considered landscaping accordingly to avoid water damage, now is the time.
Here are some effective landscaping tips that will slowly but surely help you prevent water damage from compromising your plant life and your house curb appeal.
So let’s get hold of a shovel and get started!
⟶ Native Plants for the Win
Understandably everyone wants their garden to be unique, and who doesn’t like to host non-native plants that bring an exotic beauty to the comfort of your homes. However, what non-native plants can’t do is ever get adjusted to the soil of their new homeland.
Unlike indigenous plants that prevent soil erosion and allow accumulated water to drain efficiently, non-native plants may not absorb it properly, leaving it to overflow in case of rain or storm. Hence, the easiest solution? Pot your non-native fellows separately in clay pots while allowing the native ones to flourish in the land.
⟶ Mulch Much Mandate
Mulch is basically a compost of leaves, twigs, and dirt that is spread around the plants via landscaping to fertilize and purify the soil for plant growth and health. You may be used to using mulch to fertilize the soil and help your plants grow. However, one more effective use of mulch can help you avoid water damage.
But in addition to this, it can hold the soil and rainwater in place, keeping it from overflowing and drying off to cause water damage. The best way is to distance the landscaping from your home and spread the mulch around six inches from the siding to keep the moisture away.
⟶ Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side
Need a quick and efficient solution for water absorption? Plant grass. It is a commonly known fact that grassroots carry an extremely efficient structure in absorbing water. So now, when you see that your neighbor’s grass looks green and the property water damage-free, you know the trick.
Moreover, allow the grass to grow and avoid mowing the lawn too short once it grows out. Cutting it too short will weaken the root system that you have established, and it won’t hold that much water then, allowing it to flood your yard.
⟶ Drain the Rain through the Driveway
Now onto some steps, you can take if you are in the process of renovating your landscape – add drains to the driveway. This is one of the best ways you can ensure that excess water simply drains out automatically instead of overflowing or flooding around the house.
Paved driveways also keep the water from coming anywhere near the property and slide it right off in the drains. Moreover, you can also have a spaced driveway. This way, you can add pavers and channel drains as a way of landscaping-based solutions to avoid water damage.
⟶ Slope It Down
The next thing you can do apart from adding drains or changing your driveway is to change your garden area to face downwards as a slope and edge it out with drains. This way, all excess water will flow downwards and be carried away from the drains instead of getting collected, over-absorption, or flooding your property.
The natural gravitational pull would carry the water right off from the plants and into the drains. An efficient drainage system would even allow the water to be recycled and reintroduced to the plants, saving water and helping you avoid water damage all in one go.
⟶ Keep the Gutters Clean
Lastly, installing the draining system, sloping your garden, etc., all may sound like an efficient idea to keep landscaping in good shape and avoid water damage entirely. But it really won’t be of any good if you don’t keep your gutters clean, especially in the fall season when leaves dry out and twigs are everywhere. They can easily get into the gutters and clog them, compromising the functionality of the drains. This will accumulate water and may even ruin your plants and cause water damage around the area. So the best way to keep all of this from happening? Clean your gutters!
In Conclusion
It is safe to say that water damage can occur through a variety of issues such as unmaintained landscaping, leaks, burst pipes, and overflowing sinks. It can cause structural damage, destroy belongings, and even create secondary problems such as mold and fungi growth infestation.
Making a call to our team at 911 Restoration of Seattle is a crucial step in restoring your property as soon as you discover the issue. The sooner you call us, the better your chances of minimizing the damages. Call us at (206) 203-6155 to get started today!