If you’re looking for simple ways to increase the value of your home, a sump pump is a great place to start. Why? They help keep the lower levels of your home — whether it is a basement or cellar dry throughout the year.

Keep the Basement Dry

By keeping the basement dry, a sump pump provides a safe and livable space for you and your family to enjoy. You may even wish to transform your dry basement into a spare bedroom, home office, game room, or home theatre. But you must first install a reliable sump pump system. After all, no one wants to sleep, work, play games, or watch movies in a damp, moldy space.

So how does a sump pump operate?

When excess water accumulates in your basement or crawl space, a sump pump will collect and pump the water outdoors, keeping the inside of your home dry. Like anything with movable parts, a these pumps should be routinely checked to ensure that it is working properly and efficiently. A clogged pump or one with a dead battery or loose cables doesn’t do a whole lot of good. Experts recommend getting your pump inspected at least once a year.

A Battery Backup

Some homeowners already have a sump pump, but it might be finicky and occasionally fail for no reason. Or perhaps their current one runs like a charm, but when they lose power, they lose their pump as well. And what if you go on vacation, and, while you’re gone, your home is hit with heavy flooding that your primary pump just can’t handle? In cases like these, a Battery Backup pumps can save the day. With a Battery Backup sump pump, you can stay protected 24-7, even during the worst storms, heaviest floods, or when your primary pump fails to turn on or simply isn’t doing the job. A Battery Backup pump also includes a charging system that will recharge the battery once power has been restored.

A Basement Floor Drain

If you happen to experience a plumbing leak, a basement floor drain can help. By expelling water downwards and preventing moist air from rising into the basement, a basement floor drain offers maximum waterproofing protection.

Many top-of-the-line pumps, come with a built-in floor drain. They also come with an airtight cover that keeps moisture, odors, and even radon from rising upwards into the basement. The airtight cover also helps to quiet noise created by the pump, and acts as a safeguard to protect small children from an otherwise open sump hole. And finally, with a sump pump alarm, you will be alerted immediately if water rises above the point where it should have turned on.

With the proper sump pump system, you can ensure — without a shadow of a doubt — that the lower levels of your home are dry, safe, and livable. And as previously mentioned, a dry basement can be used in a number of ways, and ultimately increase the value of your home!

Source by Tay Wright

The maintenance and cleaning out of a sump pit is critical for the performance of the sump pump. Once the basement sump is installed then it is up to the installation contractor to clean out the sump pit prior to commissioning the system and signing it off. In both preformed sump chambers and sump pits there is always a big chance that the pit will be full of builders rubble and debris from the site works. The installation company should remove all debris from the pit or chamber and then use a Aqua vac to remove any silt or fines which may be at the bottom of the chamber. It is at this point the operative should test all the fittings and pipe work is correctly glued and or screwed together and make sure that there is no debris in the bottom of the sump pumps which could cause it to jam in the event of the sump pumps being activated.

It is important when cleaning out a sump pit or chamber that you have a standby pump with a flexible hose because if you are in an active water situation and have only one discharge line leading from you sump pit out then you will need the standby pump to remove water whilst you check the primary pump for wear etc. It is also very handy to have a large catchall tray which means you can take out the pumps without making a mess to any fixtures or fittings if you sump pit or chamber is inside. Other very handy tools when you need to clean out a sump pit is a acid for getting rid of lime scale residue which may have built up inside the chamber. Another essential when dealing with the clean out of a sump pit or chamber is a hose connected to mains water. This helps to wash out any debris but also to test the pumps quickly once cleaned and ready for action.

When cleaning out a sump pit which is being utilised for not just ground water i.e sewage then you are in a different ball park. The same principles apply to a clean water sump chamber but you will need to take a lot of extra precautions and you will need to have the appropriate immunisations for dealing with foul sump systems.

It may be best to not make this a job you do in house but outsource this to a professional foul sump maintenance company.

Remember it is vital to maintain pumps like your boiler to keep them reliable. The cleaning of the sump pit/chamber is a essential part of this process.

Source by Anitha Hari