Many of us have a little thought about the rarely seen appliance down in our basements protecting our homes from major water damage. That's right your sump pump is sitting down in a hole your basement floor just waiting for water to enter the sump pit and then extracting this water so that it does not flood your basement. This appliance in generally not given a second thought until it stops working.
When your sump stops working water rushes into your home and seemingly looks for anything that it can ruin. This water generally finds carpet first and then starts rotting sheetrock and anything electrical that is stored in your basement. The amount of damage and the dollars to repair this damage begin to add up in a hurry. What can you do? What should you know? How can you prevent this basement damage?
First, you should know the #1 item that causes your sump pump to stop working - the switch. Yes, the switch. This is the item that tells the pump to start and to stop and when to do it. Sometimes it will be a float switch mounted to an arm, sometimes a tethered switch and other times it's a pressure switch. The switch gets gummed up, hung up or just quits working. What should you do? This is the simple part. You need to purchase a dual float switch. These work by redundancy, if the primary switch stops working then the secondary switch takes over before any damage can be done. These switches can be purchased separately and attached to many existing sump pumps or you can purchase a new sump pump that comes with one. Either way redundancy is the key to safety.
Second, get a battery backup sump pump. These simple DC pumps will kick in when your power goes out or a breaker gets tripped and takes over for your primary AC sump pump. The battery backup sump pumps run on battery power that is generally connected to a controlling device that recognizes a loss of power and automatically puts the DC pump into action. Once again a dual float switch is prudent for battery backup pumps. This way you will have two pumps, each having two switches to provide redundancy which prevents a flooded basement.
Lastly, replace your sump pump at least every 10 years. Don't wait until you have a flooded basement, change it out now. Not only is this much cheaper than replacing carpet, drywall and family heirlooms but it will also give you peace of mind when the spring rains roll in. Remember, your sump pump is an electrical device. Electrical devices generally do not give much warning when they are about to quit working. This is especially true of electric devices that are mounted in water under your basement floor. Don't delay - Replace today!
To wrap things up, just remember - two switches are better than one, two pumps are better than just one and electric appliances mounted in a hole in the basement floor do not last forever, especially a builders grade unit like most of us have protecting our homes. Your sump pump can be your best protection against household damage or it can be your biggest problem.
