1. Malfunctioning gutters

Rain cascading over the edge of a gutter means that dead leaves and debris are blocking the flow.

2. Downspouts that dump

Each inch of rain that falls on 1,000 square feet of a house produces more than 600 gallons of runoff, enough to fill 10 bathtubs to the brim. Dumping that much water too close to the foundation can send it right into the basement.

3. Cracks in the foundation

Hairline cracks, as thin as thread, are just cosmetic. Bigger cracks may or may not spell trouble. It depends on the width of the crack, how deep it penetrates, and whether it’s growing.

4. Flaking and deposits on walls

If you see areas of white or gray crust on the basement walls, that’s efflorescence, mineral deposits left behind by evaporating water.

5. Mildew in the attic

The attic might seem like a strange place to look for drainage problems, but mildew on the underside of the roof can be a tipoff to serious trouble at the ground level.'

6. Migrating mulch

When soil doesn’t drain properly, rain may run off in sheets, carving gulleys in the landscape, dumping silt on pathways, and carrying piles of mulch or wood chips where they don’t belong.

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