Hurricane Season Plumbing Prep for South Florida Homeowners

Every year we get calls starting around the second week of June from homeowners dealing with the aftermath of the first tropical storm: sewage backflow, sump pumps that didn't wake up, broken irrigation lines, water heaters soaked by roof leaks, ceiling drips from who-knows-where. Most of these are preventable.

Here's the exact checklist we give to every customer who asks what to do before hurricane season. It takes about an hour and covers what we see break most often.

Pre-season checklist (May — early June)

1. Test your main water shutoff

Turn it off. Listen for water to stop. Turn it back on. If the valve is stiff, leaks, or the handle wobbles — have it replaced now, not during evacuation. Seized valves are the single most common cause of 'I couldn't stop the water' disasters we see.

2. Test sump pumps and condensate pumps

Pour a bucket of water into the sump pit and watch the pump engage. If it doesn't turn on, hums without pumping, or runs but doesn't fully evacuate the water — it needs service. A dead sump pump during a storm means flooding basements (rare here) or flooded mechanical rooms (very common in South Florida single-family homes).

3. Clear yard drains and gutters

Leaves, mulch, and royal palm seed pods clog yard drains fast. Run a hose through every drain for 30 seconds and watch it flow. Clean gutters and downspouts — water that can't flow away from the house goes into the house.

4. Inspect the water heater

Is it more than 8–10 years old? Strongly consider replacement now. A water heater that survives until September and then fails during a tropical storm — when you can't get a plumber for three days — is a miserable situation. Also flush out sediment while you're at it; after a year of South Florida hard water, there's a lot in there.

5. Check sewer backflow preventer

Homes below flood-risk elevation should have a backflow preventer on the main sewer line to stop storm-surge sewage from entering the home. If your home has one, make sure its access point is clear. If it doesn't and you're in a flood-prone area (large parts of Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Hialeah), this is the year to install one.

6. Camera the sewer lateral (every 3–5 years)

If you haven't had your sewer line camera-inspected recently and your home was built before 1985, this is the time. Tree roots and joint separations are amplified by storm-saturated ground. A preventive camera inspection in May is much cheaper than emergency sewer work in September.

When a storm is 48 hours out

1. Fill bathtubs with water (for toilet flushing and sanitation if water service is lost). Each bathtub holds 40–60 gallons.
2. Fill drinking-water containers — at least one gallon per person per day for three days.
3. Confirm you know where the main shutoff is (and that you tested it).
4. Charge phone batteries and have a flashlight accessible near the shutoff.
5. If you have a generator, verify it can run your well pump or sump pump if applicable.
6. Move any outdoor items that could become projectiles away from exterior water lines and hose bibs.

If you're evacuating

Shut off the main water to the house. Any roof damage, broken window, or wind-loosened fitting that starts leaking while you're gone will be 100× worse with pressurized water flowing into it. You can drain the lines by opening a low faucet after shutoff, which also empties the system so frost (unlikely here) or residual pressure doesn't cause issues.

After the storm: what to check

• Turn water back on slowly. Open a faucet first and listen for air/water ratios returning to normal.
• Check ceilings and walls for new stains, bulges, or drips.
• Smell for sewage — storm surge can push sewer gases back into homes through dry traps.
• Run every faucet and flush every toilet. Discolored water for the first 60 seconds is normal; if it stays dirty, contact the utility.
• Check the water heater — if it sat with no power for an extended outage, inspect for leaks before re-energizing.
• Inspect yards for depressions or wet spots — these can indicate broken underground service or irrigation lines after ground shifts.

When to call a plumber after the storm

• Any new leak or stain that wasn't there before
• Sewage smell that doesn't resolve after flushing dry traps
• Water that stays discolored for more than a few minutes
• Sudden drops in water pressure
• Water heater that won't relight or won't hold temperature
• Any visible broken pipe, even if not leaking now

Post-storm demand for plumbers spikes dramatically — everyone needs us at once. If you identify an issue during your post-storm walkthrough, call as soon as possible rather than waiting to see if it "gets worse." We triage calls by severity but can only schedule what comes in.