FOX 17 — A quick warm-up, just after a winter storm, is causing a lot of snow to melt in West Michigan.
“During this next warm-up, I'm going to be very, very busy,” said Travis Byrnes, the General Manager at Paul Davis Restoration.
The restoration company is preparing to deal with a significant uptick of callers concerned about water in their basements.
“We have to make sure every single thing is dry. Otherwise, you're going to have a mold issue. So when we talk costs and those sorts of things, they can be $10,000 - $20,000,” Byrnes added.
Everywhere you look right now there’s plenty of snow up, in, and around homes.
“With snow and ice and slush, it acts like a sponge and a dam. And so it actually keeps the water around your house and it doesn't allow it to flow way down your backyard. And the only way water's going to escape is down the side of your foundation,” Byrnes said.
The general manager wants to educate people on how to prepare for this thaw in order to prevent a potential catastrophe inside their homes.
“The first thing you can do is make sure you have a new sump pump. Make sure it's up to snuff. It's got a good warranty on it. Make sure it's not five years old,” Byrnes said. “What we have here is a city water siphon pump. Now when that bottom pump fails and, God forbid it does, the water level is going to rise and it’s going to activate this pump.”
Another tool to have ready in your basement is a water detection alarm.
“You can sit them around the concrete around the crock. And if they get wet, they'll go off just like a smoke detector would,” he said.
The restoration company has 22 people ready for what they say is going to be a busy week.
“Every single pair of hands I have are going to be at houses drying them out sucking water out, ripping them apart to make sure that they're safe for people to continue to live in them,” Byrnes said.
