Heavy Rain: How to Prepare Your Home.

Heavy rain isn't a river problem. It's caused by local thunderstorm cells and can occur anywhere — in cities just as in rural areas.

What raises the risk:

• The German Meteorological Service (DWD) sees signs of an increase in heavy rain, especially in southern Germany. The records are still too short for clear trends
• Soil sealing is increasing — water can't infiltrate and runs off the surface
• For technical and economic reasons, the sewer system can't be sized for every downpour. In heavy rain it fills up, and the water pushes back through the house connections
• Even homes far from rivers flood — via sewer backflow, surface water, or overwhelmed drainage

Before the next heavy rain, check these points:

1. Backflow protection — Is a backflow valve installed and functional? When was it last maintained?
2. Window wells & basement windows — Are they sealed or raised? Water enters here first.
3. Check drainage — Are drainage pipes clear? When was the drainage last flushed?
4. Test the pump — Does the submersible pump start? Does the float switch move freely?
5. Monitor water level — A sensor in the pump sump warns you when drainage reaches its limits.
6. Emergency plan — Do all residents know where the fuse box is and what to do if there's water in the basement?

• Do not enter the basement if water threatens to enter — danger to life from electricity
• Close basement floor drains (if no backflow valve is installed)
• Remove valuables from the basement while it's safely possible
• Place sandbags in front of window wells and basement entrances
• Check your monitoring system — Drainbee shows you the current water level even during the storm

During heavy rain, your drainage system is put to the test. Drainbee measures the water level in your pump sump and warns you when:

• The level exceeds your threshold — for example because the pump can't keep up or doesn't start at all
• The power goes out — no power means no pump, no protection
• The WLAN drops — so you know that alerts can't currently get through

The level history shows you what's happening in the shaft even when you're away. So you can react in time — or send someone to check.

What our own data shows: In an analysis of 8 Drainbee pump sumps (March to October 2026, 1,616 device-days), the pump didn't run at all on 62% of days. On days with pumping, the median was 4 pump cycles, with a maximum of 49 in one day. A device's busiest day had about seven times as many cycles as a typical pump day (median across 5 devices with at least 20 pump days). So for weeks almost nothing happens, and then the pump has to do several times its usual work within a single day. A stuck float or a broken pump goes unnoticed precisely during those quiet weeks.