When excessive water comes into your garage, it leads to flooding issues, which leads to damage and an annoying clean-up process. If you deal with water coming into your garage from time to time, there are ways you can prevent this and avoid damage to your home and belongings. Keeping your garage dry has never been easier. Keep reading to find out how you can stop water from coming into your garage.
Why does my garage door leak?
Your garage door could be leaking because of a variety of reasons. Many older garage doors do not fit the door frame of your garage very tightly, and during rainfall, this will lead to a lot of water coming into your garage. If you do not have a door or floor seal, this could be the main reason why water is coming into your garage. Thankfully, installing a door or floor seal is super easy.
Also Read: How to Fix a Dented Garage Door?
Another reason why you have excessive water in your garage is from your gutters, which may appear like it is a garage door issue but is really a separate issue altogether. Fixing gutter issues is usually pretty easy as well.
Garage Water Leak Solutions
1. Door and Floor Seals
Door seals are basically pieces of plastic that fit perfectly in the crevice between your garage door and the door frame. Floor seals fit into the crevice between your garage floor and where your garage door starts. Both of these tools are great for blocking water from coming into your garage, and they are extremely easy to install. They can be purchased at your local home store or on Amazon, just make sure you measure your space and you buy the correct size for your garage door.
2. How to Replace a Worn Seal
Replacing a worn seal is very simple. First, prop open your garage door so that way you can access the old seal. Then, remove the screws that are keeping the seal in place – you may need a drill for this process. After you remove the screws, it will be easy to pry the seal out from where it is placed. Once you remove the seal, you can go ahead and install the new one, which you may need a drill for as well. All seals are a little different, but they are all generally installed with a few screws.
3. Landscaping
Certain elements in your landscaping could be the reason behind your water-filled garage. For example, if you have a tree leaning close to the entrance of your garage, water could be dripping into your garage during rainfall. Or, if you have a bed of mulch close to your garage and no way for rainwater to drain, it could be flowing into your garage. Check out your landscaping to see if there are any small issues you can fix.
4. Gutters
The gutters that line your house often are very close to garage doors and could be leaking into your garage. Next time it rains, take notice of how your gutters are working. If you notice water dripping from your gutters close to your garage, you may want to restructure your gutters so they go in a different direction. Or, attach another gutter so that the water goes down towards the ground.
5. Trench Drains
Trench drains are similar to gutters because they are designed to drain water away from your home. However, just like with gutters, if the trench drains are aligned incorrectly with your home, this could lead to water coming into your garage. If you use trench drains, take a look at them to see if they are causing the problem.
6. Garage Floors
You probably wouldn’t think that your floor would be issue behind the water in your garage – but it could be. Water tends to leak from the ground through cracks in cement floors, and if you live in a wet climate, this could be your problem. Take a look at your garage floor to see if water is coming through the cracks and crevices.
How Do I Dry Out My Garage?
Begin trying out your garage with a squeegee, and then if you can, leave your garage doors open to air dry it out more thoroughly. After a day of the sun shining in, your garage floors will be totally dry. Don’t forget about those tough corners and other hard-to-reach places – use a squeegee to get in those crevices so your whole garage is dry.
Final Thoughts
Having water in your garage is a common problem, but as you can see, there are many ways to take care of this issue. If you are having this problem, take a look at your seals, and your gutters and trench drains. You will find the source of the water and will be able to fix the issue in no time.
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