Fun with Sump Pumps
I don't think my house was built correctly -- at least not the drainage/sump pump system.
You see, I have a lot of sediment coming into my the well where the sump pump sits. This resulted in an almost totally clogged output pipe this past summer. The output was so clogged, there wasn't enough pressure to push the water up the pipe past the backflow valve. I had to disconnect the sump pump and when I looked down the pipe, it looked like some Discovery Channel show about clogged arteries! A little bit of shaking and I had a pile of goopy mud on the basement floor and a clean pipe. I hooked everything back up and the pressure was much better. Problem soved.
Then there was Tuesday night. I went downstairs to feed the cat and noticed some water in one corner of the basement. It was barely noticeable so I turned the light on. It was definitely a small puddle of water. Then I started scanning around the basement and my jaw dropped. Lots of water coming from the edges of the basement. It's not like water was gushing in, but it was a slow seep that managed to form some very large puddles.
I tip-toed through a puddle to check out the sump pump. Wasn't running. Argh! I fiddled with the plug and checked to make sure the circuit breaker hadn't popped. Everything looked fine. Time to get the tools out.
I disconnected everything and assumed the pipe had been clogged again. It wasn't. So I decided to check the insides of the sump pump. I removed the 8 screws that held the bottom plate on so I could check out the propeller and make sure it was working. Holy cow!! Talk about sediment build up. The entire propeller was caked with a soft brown build up!
I chipped away and the propeller and got all of the muck off. There was now way more room for the propeller to turn as well as more room for water to enter the pump mechanism. I put everything back together and smiled at my handy work.
I reconnected the sump pump, plugged it in and it went to town on that water! Pushed it all out faster than I've ever seen it work. I waited around for a few cycles to make sure everything was working right. Good thing. About 15 minutes later, my floater switch broke -- the sump pump was stuck "on"! It wouldn't turn off. It just emptied the entire well and started sucking air. I fiddled with it a bit but it would just not go off when the floater switch clicked.
A quick trip to Home Depot at 10:45pm, $30 for a new floater switch and I was back in business. Oh -- I also bought a second sump pump. Just in case...
10:09:30 PM 
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