A sump pump is a small machine but plays an important role to keep your house basement dry. Sump pumps mainly work on their own in the background, preventing your house basement from unnecessary floods and drains out the water when required.

Sump pump maintenance is necessary on a regular basis to keep it 100% operational, Because most of the time it stays idle, it may operate immediately when groundwater rises. It pumps out the incoming water before the water incurs damage to your house. So it’s very important to keep your sump pump maintenance up to the mark.

How Sump Pump Works

To understand sump pump maintenance, it’s important for us to know the operational procedure of the sump pump. It is an electrically operated compact machine installed in a sump pit. It is designed to be submerged in the water, when the water level rises to a certain level, the pump automatically turns on and drums out the water. Once the water level reaches below the mark level, the pump turns off automatically.

A sump pump works in two directions, either by clearing groundwater on a regular basis or by discharging large water quantities in an emergency. Groundwater coming towards your property, pour into the rock-filled drains, from there, water is diverted to the sump pit and discharged back outside. A high-quality sump pump may discharge 5000-6000 gallons of water per hour during an emergency situation.

Neglecting the sump pump maintenance could be adverse, expensive maintenance costs and water damage will make it worse. Soil surrounding your property might be saturated after heavy winter rains, all the moisture may lead to excessive moisture below your property.

Sump pumps require maintenance at least once a year, but it depends on the usage. Before doing anything with the sum pump, disconnect the electricity as per the standard operating procedure.

Sump Pump Maintenance Tips

Test Sump Pump Regularly

The Sump pump should be tested regularly to confirm that it’s operating smoothing without any lags. There are many ways to test the sump pump easily by yourself, put a full bucket of water down the sump pit, the pump should turn on instantly, make sure that the floating valve and switch moves freely, and there is nothing blocking them, you can also the discharge line in order to ensure that it’s no clogged, obstructed or frozen, clear the inlet screen of any debris or residue.

Maintain Sump Pump Batteries

Sump pumps run on electricity, so you might find yourself in trouble if there are thunderstorms knocking off electricity in your area. It is a smart move to have an alternative battery backup for emergency situations. Good battery’s life span is normally up to 3 years. It is recommended to check if the batteries are fully working and charged. Some sump pumps are powered by water, so they don’t need electricity to run the pump. These pumps can be used as backup pumps to use in emergency situations.

Clean your Sump pit.

It is necessary to clean your sump pit once a year, you can start by disconnecting the pump from power, flush out the water properly, and get rid of any debris, mud, and stones, or anything unnecessary in the sump pit. Once the sump pit is clear, re-install the sump pump in the pit, connect it with the power, test the sump pump, connect the sump pump with electricity, and pour a bucket of water in the pit. The pump should start immediately.

Maintain the vicinity of your property building

Building maintenance is very important for the longevity of your building. To avoid basement flooding, sump pump maintenance is very important, regularly check the cracks in different components of the building, it is recommended to seal the building cracks with appropriate filling products. Gutters and sewerage lines should be checked properly on a regular basis, make sure that the surrounding of your house is properly graded and slope away from the foundations of your building. The water can build up very quickly in the rainy season, if the external area is not managed properly it can damage the basement immediately.