Flood Watch Weekend Is When Basements Lose

Last week in Battle Creek started mild, then turned wet. Tuesday brought thunderstorms with highs near 78. Thursday added rain on a muggy 68/64 day. Then the weekend hit hard: the National Weather Service put Calhoun County under a Flood Watch from early Saturday through Sunday morning, with several rounds of rain and 2 to 4 inches possible across southwest Lower Michigan. Nearby Kalamazoo recorded 1.09 inches Saturday with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and fog while highs stuck in the low 60s. Sunday kept the heavy rain going. That water does not leave with the radar. It sits in the crock, the floor drain, and against the foundation.

This is the week a sump that "usually works" fails under load. Lift the lid. If the crock is high, the float is stuck, the pump hums and will not push, or the discharge hose is kinked in the yard, that is a wet basement, not a wait-until-October problem. Standing water on the floor, a musty smell that was not there Friday, or a discharge that never reaches the grass are the tells. Call A.W. Crooks. We are 24/7 residential plumbing and HVAC in Battle Creek, and we do not add a weekend tax during hours. (269) 962-5441 or book at tctcinc.com/contact. Drain clearing is live on tctcinc.com/specials if the line is the choke point.

Same walk after a Flood Watch: downspouts and the grade next to the house. If the outlet dumps against the foundation, that water is choosing your basement. Inside, glance at the water heater base — an 8-to-12-year-old tank with a wet ring on the floor does not need another wet week. The $99 water heater check is still on specials: flush, T&P, look at the tank and the floor. Not a new heater. Parts and repairs not included. Cooler nights in the 50s also mean heat will kick. The Fall $99 furnace and $199 boiler tune-ups cover one system check before the first hard freeze. Repairs not included.

Tuesday's storms and the weekend cells trip outdoor disconnects and breakers that will not reset. That is The Michigan Electric Company — residential and light commercial electrical, panels, and generators — same number.

If you are building or running commercial or new-construction plumbing, that is The Plumbing Company, not Crooks. Not 24/7. Same call center reaches all three: (269) 962-5441 · tctc@mitctc.com · tctcinc.com.