Sump Pump 101

Have you ever gone down to your basement and all of a sudden stepped into what seemed like a lake? Or maybe you’ve woken up to massive amounts of rain and found your basement to be flooded. Or maybe you’re even trying to prevent these scenarios from happening. No matter the reason, we have a solution.

Let’s begin by explaining why your basement is flooding in the first place. Basements are built almost entirely below ground level with a drain at the lowest point: this allows for water to travel downward and into that drain. The drain is connected to the sewer system where it can exit your basement. Sometimes when we get excess amounts of rain, the sewer system will reach its capacity and all the water will come right back to your basement.

This is where I get to express to you how important it is to have a sump pump in your basement. Even if your basement has never flooded before, there is always a chance, and that is why we want you to be prepared. It’s also possible that your home already has a sump pump; however, most of the time the sump pumps we see in homes are not effective. Commonly they are just an ugly hole in the basement floor that allows all the water to evaporate back into your basement because they don’t have a lid. This is contradicting and basically useless. 

There are many sump pump options that are sure to suit every household. If your basement floods often and you want the top of the line equipment to ensure this doesn’t happen again, we have what we call the TripleSafe sump pump system. As the name implies, this sump pump is built with three pumps in one liner. The first pump does all the work and is most efficient. The second pump is higher up and will begin working when there’s excess amounts of water and the first pump can’t keep up. Lastly, the third pump is battery controlled and will work if your home's power goes out.

We can also install a SmartSump if you have a flooding crawl space or the SuperSump as another flooding basement option. The SuperSump is only 1 pump rather than 3 and is installed with an airtight lid to ensure that water will not evaporate back into the basement. There is also a sturdy liner and a hole to accept water from underground. A few extra benefits to this pump is that it will alarm if water levels get too high and there’s a hole in the lid in case of a flood.

Sump pumps are not decorative or exciting but they will keep your home and belongings dry and protected. So next time you wake up to pouring rain you won’t have to run downstairs to see if your basement is a body of water. No matter what option you choose, any three of our sump pumps will be sure to ease your mind.