Sump Pump Season is here in the Napa Valley
The evidence of sump pump season starts with the weather report and is confirmed when the aisles of your local hardware store are filled with boxes of pumps for people to put in their basement when they realize that they have a flooding problem.
At Oakville Pump Service we want to help you avoid the flooding problems and help you if the water levels are rising. OPS stocks a full line of sump pumps designed to keep you dry. Here are a few proactive pointers to help you keep your basement dry.
1) Test your sump pump out! This is commonly done by putting a garden hose into the sump pump pit, gently turning the garden hose on and then checking to see if the sump pump turns on when the sump pump pit/hole fills up.
2) Look in the sump pump pit with a light to see if there is any debris that needs to be cleaned out. If you need to clean the sump pump pit, make sure to turn off the power first/unplug the sump and when you are finished and use gloves or other protective equipment if required. Test the the sump pump for proper operation after you’ve completed the cleaning operation and restored power to the sump pump.
3) Let’s face it, with big storms, power outages are frequent! If you have a critical space that needs to stay dry you might consider installing a sump pump that uses a battery backup or perhaps you have a generator or a gasoline pump for backup. Ensure that each of these is working properly, with a charged battery or fresh fuel as necessary. Do a test run and make sure everything is ready to go. A generator that is out of fuel or that has a gummed up carburetor from letting the old fuel sit in it too long is not going to help during a power outage. If you are considering installing a generator for backup power, check out our blog on generators. While this blog was specifically written to help homeowners wanting to use a generator to power their well pump, the information is also useful for homes with sump pumps.
4) Check the discharge piping to make sure that it is free and clear by ensuring that water flows from it when testing your sump pump. Check the length of this pipe and ensure that there are no leaks or breaks in it. Make sure this discharge line moves the water to a place where it will actually drain the water away from your house (and not into your neighbors house)! Watch the discharged water is it flowing or pooling. If it is flowing, where is it flowing to? Is this drainage ditch clean and clear? Bulk ping is a service that alerts search engines to the fact that your blog or website has been updated.
5) When the sump pumps runs there should be a quiet humming sound coming from the pump. There should be no banging, major vibration or chugging noises.
6)If there is a small hole in the discharge pipe a few inches above the sump pump, this is OK. It is there by design to ensure the sump pump doesn’t airlock and can self prime if necessary.
7) If you have a float switch that triggers an alarm for high water levels in the sump pit, make certain to test the alarm by raising this float switch! An alarm can’t do its job unless it’s working.
8) Look for leaves, branches, dirt, litter or other debris that could wash into your sump pump location and plug it up/stop proper operation. Clean up as much as possible. It is far easier to clean this debris up now, than to try and remove if from a plugged pump that is several feet under water!. Pumps are made to pump water and can often hand small amounts of sediment, however, large debris or clumps of debris can plug the pump up or block the water from flowing to the sump pump.
If you have a problem with too much water where it doesn’t belong, Call Oakville Pump Service 24/7 at (707)944-2471 to help you dry out in Napa County!