Rainy days are supposed to be quiet and peaceful. They feel like the perfect occasions to relax and curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. That is, when the rain manages to stay outside.

When the rainy weather makes its way into your house, you’ll feel anything but relaxed. Find out what home improvements you can make to stop your space from getting drenched.

Fix Roof Problems

Have you noticed that your roof is missing some shingles? Have you spotted the signs of a leak in your attic? You need to call a roofing expert right away and get that spot patched up. If you ignore this problem, you could be dealing with a lot of water damage the next time a thunderstorm blows in.

What if you can’t afford it? If you don’t have the savings to patch up your roof just yet, don’t panic. You could put the expense on your credit card and then pay down the balance later. Or you could try to apply for a cash advance online as a solution. As long as you meet all of the qualifications, you can apply for a cash advance loan. With an approved loan, you can use borrowed funds to handle your urgent home repair in a short amount of time.

That way, you can patch up your roof quickly and focus on repayments later.

Clean Your Gutters

Your gutters are supposed to collect rainwater from your roof, move it through the downspout and direct it far away from your home’s foundation. Without it, all of that rainwater would slide down the sides of your house and pool at the bottom, where it could seep through your foundation and into your basement. Heavy rainfall could mean an expensive basement flood.

You should clean your gutters to make sure they don’t get clogged. Clogged gutters will overflow when it rains and send water toward the foundation. 

Extend Your Downspout

Your downspout should direct rainwater at least three feet away from your foundation. If you live on flat land instead of on a slope, you will want that downspout to go even further to stop the water from pooling. It should be at least ten feet away from the foundation.

How do you solve this problem? You can attach an extension to your downspout. You can also put a splash block underneath it.

Get a Sump Pump

Do you have a sump pump? A sump pump is an amazing flood prevention tool. It sits in the lowest part of your basement inside of a sump pit/basin. When groundwater builds up around your foundation (like during a heavy rainstorm), your sump pump will turn on. It will collect this excess water and pump it through a discharge pipe, which will direct it away from your foundation.

If you have a newer build, you will probably have a sump pump. The U.S. Federal Clean Water Act made the feature mandatory for many newer constructions in 1987. If your house was built before then, it might not have a sump pump. You should change that.

If you already have a sump pump, that doesn’t mean your basement is safe. How old is your sump pump? When was it last replaced? The average sump pump will last around ten years. You might need a replacement.

If you’re not sure how old it is, give it a test run. Pour a bucket of water into the sump basin and see how the machine runs. You don’t want to find out it’s broken in the middle of a storm. 

Don’t let the rain ruin your home sweet home. Make these improvements so that you can stay nice and dry.