The 'Mountain Runoff Checkup' (Window Well Wonders)
- Realtor Annie
- 6 hours ago
- 1 min read
Whether you live in a classic Sugar House bungalow or a newer build down in Draper, if your home has a basement, it likely features a few deep window wells. Right now, our massive Wasatch snowpack is finally finishing its main melt, and June’s famous sudden thunder-monsoons are rolling into the valley.
If your window wells are currently acting as an organic soup of last autumn's leaves, stray wrappers, and winter gravel, you have a recipe for an accidental basement aquarium. When a heavy storm hits, an unmaintained window well will fill up like a bucket until the water bursts straight through your basement window glass.
The Hack: The Window Well Rescue
Don’t wait for the sky to turn purple over the mountains. Grab a pair of thick gloves and a bucket this afternoon:
1.Scoop the Sludge: 10 mins.
Clear out all leaves, garbage, and overgrowth. Dig down until you actually hit the gravel base at the bottom of the well.
2.Expose the Drain Cap: 5 mins.
Find the central drain cap embedded in the gravel. Make sure it isn't completely silted over or blocked by dirt.
3.The Bucket Test: 2 mins.
Pour a standard 5-gallon bucket of water directly into the well. It should disappear almost instantly down the drain pipe. If it pools and sits there, your drain tile is clogged, and you need to clear the pipe obstruction before the next rain.
Pro-Tip: Once it’s clean, head to your local SLC hardware store and invest in clear, sloped plastic window well covers. They keep out the debris and deflect our intense high-altitude rain away from the foundation entirely.