The purpose of sump pumps is pretty easy to understand. You can typically find a sump pump, if you have one, in a space below ground level in your home. While not every home needs one, most homes with a crawlspace or basement do need a sump pump. Without one, you might find yourself underwater…

    These four simple facts about sump pumps will bring clarity to homeowners who may not understand what their purpose or function is.

  1. Rain or natural ground water can enter your home through a perimeter drain. This water will fill a pit in your basement, and your sump pump works to remove water by pumping it out into a dry well or a storm drain.
  2. A sump pump is usually required in homes that have space below ground level, such as a basement or a crawlspace. Without a sump pump, this space will typically flood when it rains heavily. Your sump pump can help prevent this flooding by pumping water out before it reaches the top of the sump pit.
  3. Eventually, every sump pump will fail at some point in its lifetime. For example, if your power goes out, your sump pump won’t kick on. This is why we recommend having a battery-powered backup sump pump in addition to your primary sump pump. This will help prevent flooding in your home if there is a heavy storm and you lose power.
  4. You can test that your sump pump is working correctly by dumping water in it. You can hear the pump kick on and begin pumping out water. It’s always a good idea to check that your sump pump is working in the spring before it begins raining heavily. That way if it’s not working, at least you’ll know before your basement floods!

At Hope Plumbing, we install Zoeller® Pumps and battery-powered backup sump pumps. Zoeller is a very reliable brand, is completely manufactured in the USA, and each pump is tested by hand. We typically install a 1/3 horsepower sump pump in standard situations and also have the ability to install homeowner-provided sump pumps.

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