Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Maintaining Your Sump Pump

Having a working sump pump can easily prevent your home from having costly flooding in your basement. These are used to pump flood water away from your home and into other areas, including storm drains. So, if you want to keep your basement dry all year long, it’s important that you keep your sump pump in good working condition. You should also avoid doing these mistakes: 

Not Testing Your Sump Pump

It’s important to test your sump pump system at least twice a year (before spring and fall) to make sure that it’s in good working condition. To test your system, take a five-gallon bucket filled with water, and slowly pour it at about the rate of which rainwater may enter the pump or until the float triggers your pump to activate. 

Once it’s activated, you should easily notice the water level slowly dropping and eventually shutting off again once the float has dropped back down below the shut off level. If this isn’t happening to your system, you’ll need to have a trusted professional to troubleshoot any issues that it may have. 

Not Having Backup Power

Should you experience flooding in your basement, a sump pump would redirect any incoming water. But your home can easily lose power during a powerful storm, which can cause your sump pump to shut down. Connect your sump pump to a backup power source (such as a generator or battery backup system) to keep it working even during a power outage.

Letting Debris Get Into Your Pump

This is actually a common mistake. So, to avoid this, make sure that your sump pump doesn’t sit on any loose silt, small sized gravel or any other type of debris that could easily be sucked up into the pump. We suggest using large rocks or gravel at least the size of a dime so that your lines won’t get clogged, which will otherwise ruin the motor in your pump.

DIY Installation

If you DIY your sump pump installation, you’ll likely end up paying a lot more for damages than for the cost of proper installation. Instead, hire trusted plumbing professionals like our team at Handyman Connection® of Mason to avoid the risks of faulty installation. Contact us today at (513) 733-3777, or just fill out our online contact form. Talk to us today!