Things to Know About Your Sump Pump

As the recent rain has reminded us, April isn’t the only month for showers. And so it also shouldn’t be the only month you check your home sump pump. They’re easy to forget tucked down in the basement, but like all other household mechanics, sump pumps eventually fail. The average home sump pump drains water year-round and lasts around 10 years. It isn’t until a big storm hits, however, that most people discover their pump isn’t functioning properly–and by that time it’s usually too late. A pump fail in a nasty storm can allow hundreds of gallons of water into your basement within minutes and lead to thousands of dollars worth of damages. But with a little information and a few extra dollars now, you can avoid this kind of catastrophe later.

1) The most important part of a sump pump is also the number one cause of major pump failures. Simply put, the switch tells the pump when to start and when to stop. If the switch fails, the pump fails, and that can turn a minor malfunction into a major issue. Luckily, avoiding this problem is nearly as simple as the problem itself. By purchasing a sump pump with a dual float switch or attaching a dual float switch to your existing pump you’ll add a secondary switch that takes over if the primary switch fails and will help to prevent any water from leaking into your basement.

2) As we all know, large storms can frequently cause the power to go out or circuits to trip. In the event that the power does go out in the middle of a hard rain it is imperative that you have a battery powered backup pump to continue draining when the primary pump fails. The battery powered sump pump is generally connected to a controlling device that alerts the backup when the power goes out and kicks it into action to take over for the primary sump pump.

3) No matter how many backups you have, it’s always important that you get your pump checked every six months and replace it every ten years. Checking your pump is simple, and replacing the common electrical device is a lot cheaper than replacing property that has been damaged after faulty pump led to a flooded basement.

Nowthen Plumbing can take care of all your sump pump needs. See a full list of services. Now matter where you live, from Anoka to Maple Grove to Elk River, we can take care of all of your Anoka Plumbing needs and Maple Grove Plumbing needs.