Sump Pumps
Imagine buying a home in the Cleveland, OH area and settling in comfortably in the midst of the summer dry season. You feel like you made the perfect purchase. The home is nice and cool, seals up well and provides ample space for you and your family. Then, it starts to rain and your basement promptly fills with water. Immediately, water is causing damage to your family photos, old clothing and anything else you’ve stored there.
Leaky basements are a common problem, especially for older homes where the foundation is not fully sealed. That’s where a sump pump can make a huge difference, churning out the water that leaks through saturated soil into your basement walls. Pompeii’s Plumbing & Heating can provide replacement, repair, or installation of a new sump pump for your home to ensure that water never comes back.
How a Sump Pump Works
You have probably heard of sump pumps before. These machines are placed inside your basement to help remove the water that builds up during raining seasons. Most sump pumps work in conjunction with a sump pit that is dug into the floor of your basement. As water builds up, the water gathers in the pit and is pumped out of the basement into a drainage line leading out of your basement.
These days, homes built beneath the water shed or in places prone to flooding often come with sump pumps already installed. However, when flooding becomes a new issue as is often the case with shifting stream lines or when old homes are being renovated, the addition of a new sump pump often becomes necessary.
Maintaining an Existing Sump Pump
While some homes have existing sump pumps, there are some with older pumps in need of regular maintenance and repair. Especially if you have an electric powered sump pump, you should consider adding a battery backup unit to your pump to provide the necessary electricity should you lose power. Often, when rain is at its hardest, the electricity may be interrupted and a good battery backup will help to provide the necessary surge of energy to keep your basement dry. A good battery backup should be tested and replaced regularly to ensure it will continue to work each raining season.
In addition to a good backup, cleaning of your sump pump is a must. Because the water leaking into your basement is being siphoned through ground sediment and your basement may not be fully finished, you will often find bits and pieces of gravel, sand, and debris clogging the lines of your pump. This debris can quickly build and up cause a problem if you are not careful. Before the rainy season starts, test your sump pump by dumping 3 gallons of water into your pit and seeing how well the pump operates. If it is sluggish or labors against the load, you may need repair services on your sump pump.
It is possible to clean the filter and general lines of a sump pump on your own, but if the debris gets caught in the main lines or if it has built up over several years, you’ll want to call an expert to ensure no damage is done to the pump.
Nothing is more important in maintaining the cleanliness and safety of your basement than a good sump pump. Even just a small amount of water can cause excessive damage that will take you weeks to clean up. Don’t let that be a lesson you learn the hard way. Call the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area sump pump experts at Pompeii’s Plumbing today and learn how we can help you install a new sump pump or repair the existing pump that came with your home.
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