Monsoon-Prep Checklist for Tempe Homeowners (Do It Before June 15)

Clear every roof drain, scupper, and gutter

Start on the roof, because that is where the most water arrives the fastest. Many Tempe homes have flat or low-slope roofs that drain through scuppers — the openings in the parapet wall — or through internal drains. When those pack with dust, gravel, and plant litter, water pools and finds the seams. A dust storm the week before a rain is all it takes to clog a scupper solid.

Clear them now. Pull the debris by hand, flush each line with a hose, and confirm water actually runs out. On a pitched roof, clean the gutters and make sure the downspouts carry water well away from the foundation, not straight down against the slab.

• Clear scuppers and roof drains of dust, gravel, and plant litter.
• Flush each drain with a hose and confirm it runs freely.
• Re-seat downspout extensions so water lands three feet from the wall.
• Note any ponding stains — they mark a drain that already failed.

Seal the low entry points where water gets in

Storm water almost always enters low — at the bottom of doors, along the garage threshold, and where the slab meets the exterior wall. Walk the perimeter in daylight and look hard at every one of those seams.

Replace worn weatherstripping and door sweeps. Check the rubber gasket along the bottom of the garage door; if it is cracked or curled, water rolls right under it. A tube of exterior caulk closes the gaps around hose bibs, cable penetrations, and window frames. None of this is expensive, and all of it buys you time when water is sheeting across the driveway.

• Replace cracked door sweeps and the garage-door bottom seal.
• Caulk gaps around hose bibs, cable lines, and window frames.
• Keep a few sandbags or flood bags staged for the worst door.

Fix the drainage in your yard

Water should move away from your house, not toward it. Over the years soil settles and landscaping shifts, and a grade that once sloped away can flatten or reverse. Run a hose and watch where the water goes.

Build the soil back up so the ground falls away from the foundation for the first several feet. Clear leaves and dust out of any yard or area drains. If you flood-irrigate — common on the older lots near the SRP canals — confirm your berms are intact and the valves close fully, so an irrigation run does not stack water against the slab.

• Regrade low spots so soil slopes away from the foundation.
• Clear leaves and dust from yard and area drains.
• Check irrigation berms and valves if your lot flood-irrigates.

Find and test your main water shutoff

This one is not about rain. Monsoon pressure swings and summer heat push tired pipes and hose bibs past their limit, and a supply failure during a storm is a miserable one-two punch. The time to find your main shutoff is now, not at midnight in ankle-deep water.

Locate the valve — usually near the front hose bib, in a box at the property line, or in the garage. Turn it off and back on so you know it moves and that nobody has to hunt for it. Show everyone in the house where it is. While you are at it, note where the electrical panel is and keep the path to it dry and clear.

• Find your main water valve and confirm it shuts off fully.
• Teach everyone in the household where it is.
• Keep the path to your electrical panel dry and unobstructed.

Lift everything off garage and closet floors

In slab-on-grade Tempe homes, the first casualties of any intrusion are the bottom few inches — baseboards, the lower edge of drywall, and whatever sits on the floor. One inch of water through a home runs around $25,000 in damage once you count flooring, drywall, and contents. Much of the contents loss is avoidable.

Get storage boxes, keepsakes, and electronics up onto shelves or pallets. Move paper records and photos into bins with lids. In the garage, raise anything porous off the concrete. It takes an afternoon, and it is the cheapest insurance you will buy all season.

• Raise boxes, documents, and electronics onto shelves or pallets.
• Move irreplaceable items into sealed, lidded bins.
• Keep nothing porous sitting directly on garage or closet concrete.

When prep is not enough

Good preparation lowers your risk. It does not erase it. If a storm still pushes water inside, the clock starts immediately, because mold can begin growing within 24 to 48 hours in Tempe’s summer heat. Getting the surface dry is not the same as getting the structure dry — water wicks into wall cavities and under flooring where a towel never reaches.

That is the point to call for professional flood cleanup rather than wait and hope it dries on its own. It will not; it moves deeper and costs more. We answer 24/7, target a 60-minute response across Tempe, and dry structures to the IICRC S500 standard with commercial equipment and moisture meters — not box fans. Prep hard before June 15, and keep our number handy for the storm that gets through anyway.