Flood Sock Review: Can It Replace Sandbags at Your Door?

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The flood alert lands on your phone at half nine at night, and the only thing standing between the street and your hall carpet is a draught excluder shaped like a sausage dog. A flood sock is what should be in the cupboard instead.

The Floodshield Flood Sock is a 1.5 metre tube of super absorbent polymer that stores flat until you need it. Roll it out across the doorway, wet it, and within minutes it swells into a water-tight barrier. It is a sandbag alternative that needs no sand, no shovel and no trip to the builders’ merchant while the rain is coming down.

What Is a Flood Sock?

A flood sock is a long fabric tube filled with super absorbent polymer. Dry, it is light, soft and flat enough to slide into a drawer. Once it gets wet, the polymer soaks up the water, crystallises and swells, so the sock firms up into a solid barrier that sits tight along the floor.

The Floodshield Flood Sock is made in the UK from super absorbent polymers, uses at least 50% reclaimed material, and is non-toxic and non-hazardous. Because it is one continuous length, there are no weak points where water can slip between bags, which is the usual problem with a row of sandbags.

How to Use a Flood Sock

Using a flood sock takes a couple of minutes. The one step people miss is that it needs water to get going, so don’t wait for the flood to switch it on for you.

1. Keep it close. Store it near the door it protects: under the stairs, in the utility room or in the garage.
2. Roll it out. Lay it across the doorway on the outside of the door you want to keep dry.
3. Curve it round. Bend the ends round the door frame to make a protective ring, so water is pushed away from the gap rather than towards it.
4. Wet it. A bucket or the outside tap is fine. It inflates in minutes and forms a leak-proof, water-tight seal against most surfaces.
5. Stack for height. If the water is likely to come up higher, lay a second flood sock on top of the first.
6. Keep an eye on it. While the water is up, check the flood sock is still tight to the floor and adjust it or add another if you need to.
7. Bin it afterwards. Once the flood has gone, bag it up and throw it away.

Wetting it as soon as it is in place means it is already at full size before the water gets to your step.

Fresh Water First If You Live by the Sea

A flood sock won’t inflate with salt water. If you live on the coast or near a tidal river, wet it with fresh water from the tap first. Once it has swollen, it is ready to sit against sea water like any other flood.

The 1.5m Flood Sock Fits a Normal Door

Most UK front and back door openings are around 80 to 90cm wide. The 1.5m Floodshield Flood Sock covers that with plenty spare to curve round both sides of the frame, which is why it is the size most households want. A typical house needs two flood socks, one for the front door and one for the back.

For wider openings there is a 3m version. That suits French doors, patio doors, garage doors, side gates and the bottom of a driveway, and once activated it absorbs up to 30 litres of water.

Using a Flood Sock Indoors

Floods are not the only time water heads across a floor. A washing machine hose splits, the dishwasher leaks, or a pipe lets go in the bathroom. Turn the water off at the stopcock, lay a flood sock across the internal doorway and wet it, and it keeps the water in the room it started in instead of letting it spread across the hall and into the living room carpet.

Because it stores flat, one kept in the utility room or under the kitchen sink takes up no real space, and it is there the moment you need it.

Flood Sock vs Sandbags

Sandbags are the traditional answer, and they are heavy, bulky and messy. You need somewhere to keep the sand, someone strong enough to lift the bags, and plenty of them to cover a doorway without gaps. Councils don’t always hand them out when a flood warning lands, either.

As a sandbag alternative, flood barrier socks do the same job in a doorway and are an eco-friendly sandbag equivalent. They store flat, weigh next to nothing until they are wet, and roll out as one continuous barrier. Once inflated, a flood sock protects for weeks, so it works as a quick answer to a flash flood or as a longer-term measure while water levels stay high.

Where Else a Flood Sock Works

Doorways are the obvious place, but the Floodshield Flood Sock is just as useful:

• across garage doors
• at side gates and passageways
• along footpaths and the bottom of a driveway
• to divert flood water away from the house altogether
• across internal doors when a leak starts inside

Is the Floodshield Flood Sock Worth It?

If your home is in a flood warning area, or you simply own a washing machine, a flood sock in the cupboard is one of the easiest bits of flood prep there is. It costs nothing to store, takes a couple of minutes to put down, and one person can do it.

Flood socks are single use, so once one has done its job it goes in the bin. Keep a spare, and buy one for each door that matters. For most homes that means two of the 1.5m and, if you have patio doors or a garage, a 3m as well.

What the Rest of the Team Think

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• Stores flat and light, so a flood sock fits in a drawer or under the stairs
• One continuous barrier with no gaps, unlike a row of sandbags
• Inflates in minutes once wet, then protects for weeks
• Works indoors too, across an internal door for a washing machine leak or burst pipe
• Stack them for extra height or curve them round a doorway
• Made in the UK, non-toxic and at least 50% reclaimed material

Cons

• Single use: once the Floodshield Flood Sock has been in flood water, it goes in the bin
• Needs wetting with fresh water before it will work against sea water
• One 1.5m length covers one standard door, so most homes need two or more
• Wider openings like patio doors need the 3m version

Frequently Asked Questions