When you live where hurricanes are a part of life, you want to do what you can to protect your family, your pets, and your home when those hurricanes end up on your doorway. Along with getting your emergency kit together, having a plan in place, boarding up your windows, and taking care of everything else, you also want to make sure your plumbing is prepared. This can reduce your risk of needing household plumbing or water main repair after the storm. Here are ways you can go about verifying that your plumbing is as prepared as possible for what may come:

Clear Your Drains

Make sure your drains are all clear: You want to prepare for a huge downpour of rain when you know a hurricane is making its way near you. This includes checking on your drains and making sure they are clear. Take a look at them and remove any and all debris. Along with clearing out the drains, you also want to clear out the gutters and downspouts. Clearing drains helps to prevent your underground pipes from becoming damaged due to an excess of compacted and soaked soil.

Secure The Water Heater

Make sure the water heater is secure: It's best to shut off the power or gas that feeds your water heater prior to the hurricane hitting. Your plumbing system will be better off not having the added pressure of needing to heat water amidst a strong storm. This also allows you to use the water in the water heater for other purposes right after the storm, if necessary.

Check Your Sump Pump

Check on your sump pump if applicable: If your home has a sump pump in a crawl space or basement, then it is very important for you to make sure it's in proper shape. Take a look at the exterior pipe to make sure it isn't clogged and add a few gallons of water to its crock. The sump pump should automatically pump. If there is an issue with your sump pump, you want to try to have someone come right out and take care of it before the storm gets any closer.

Turn Off The Water

Turn off the main water valve: If you aren't sure where your main water valve is, find it right away. Once the storm is quite close, you want to go to it and turn it off. Turning the water off to your home will help you to stop contaminated water from making its way into your water supply which can cause you to deal with some major issues after the storm has passed.