Preparing a Washington Home for the Wet Season

By Washington Water Damage Pros · Published 2026-09-24

Start With Drainage Around the House

Almost every recurring water problem begins with water that had somewhere better to go. Full gutters overflow directly against the foundation, and a downspout that dumps at the base of the wall is doing the same thing more efficiently. Clear the gutters in late September and again after the first big leaf drop, check that the downspouts are connected and unclogged, and extend the discharge several feet away from the house, ideally onto a splash block or into a drain line.

Then look at the ground. Soil should slope away from the foundation for at least the first few feet. Low spots, settled backfill and planting beds that have been built up against the siding all funnel water toward the wall. A few bags of soil and an afternoon with a rake fixes most of it, and it is the cheapest waterproofing available.

Roof, flashing and window wells

Damaged flashing around a chimney, skylight or vent boot lets water into an attic for weeks before it shows on a ceiling. Replace missing shingles, check the chimney counter-flashing, and clear debris from the valleys. Window wells, especially on walk-out and daylight basements, need a working drain and a cover; a well that fills during an atmospheric river becomes a direct path into the lowest room in the house.

Go Under the House

Crawl spaces are under ventilated and over ignored, and they are where Washington moisture does the most damage. Pull on a headlamp and look for standing water, a vapor barrier that has been torn or pulled back, insulation that has fallen or sagged between joists, and rust on the hangers. Any of those mean moisture has been present long enough to matter.

• Repair or replace a torn vapor barrier and lap the seams so groundwater stays under it.
• Make sure crawl space vents are open in autumn and clear of vegetation, and that none is blocked by a deck or added insulation.
• Clear the sump pit of debris, test the pump with a bucket of water, and check the discharge line outside is not frozen or buried.
• Add a battery backup or a water-powered backup pump so an outage during a storm does not turn into a flooded basement.
• Confirm the ground outside drains away from the foundation instead of pooling near the crawl space access.

Protect the Pipes Before the First Freeze

West of the Cascades, freezing is uncommon but not rare, and it is usually a short, sharp event that catches people off guard. East of the mountains, in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Yakima and the Okanogan, hard freezes are routine and burst pipes are the leading cause of winter water damage.

• Insulate supply lines in crawl spaces, garages, attics and along exterior walls, and add pipe sleeves where lines run close to a vent or an unheated space.
• Disconnect garden hoses and shut off and drain hose bibs from the inside valve.
• Seal gaps around pipes where they pass through siding or a foundation wall, since that is where cold air reaches the pipe first.
• Keep the heat set no lower than the mid-50s, even when the house is empty, and open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls during a cold snap.
• Let a faucet on an exterior wall drip slowly during a hard freeze, and know where your main shut-off is before you need it.
• If the house will sit empty through a freeze, shut the water off at the main and drain the lines.

Manage Indoor Moisture

Even without a leak, a Washington home can hold enough humidity in winter to feed mold. Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans should vent outside, not into an attic or crawl space, and they should run long enough to clear the mirror. Dryer vents need to be cleaned and checked for disconnected joints. A dehumidifier in a basement or crawl space on a humidistat keeps those spaces under control without any attention.

Watch for condensation on windows and cold water pipes. It usually means indoor humidity is above where it should be, and it often points to a bathroom fan that has failed, a crawl space that is open to the house, or ductwork leaking conditioned air into an unconditioned space.

Prepare for the Storm Itself

Windstorms and heavy rain cause outages, and outages are when sump pumps fail. Charge backup batteries, keep a flashlight and a wet vacuum where you can reach them in the dark, and know how to shut off water at the main by feel. If your neighborhood floods during big rain events, move anything irreplaceable off a basement floor before the season starts rather than during the storm.

If Water Gets In Anyway

Prevention reduces risk, not all of it. When water does arrive, the response that keeps the loss small is boring and consistent: stop the source, move what can be saved, photograph everything, and get extraction and drying started the same day. Our emergency water extraction and basement and crawl space pages explain what that looks like, and flood damage cleanup covers water that came in from outside.

Call (888) 217-5329 and a dispatcher will match your address with an independent provider near Seattle, Spokane or Vancouver, day or night. One call is usually the difference between drying the house and rebuilding part of it.