Your Home: Sump Pump
Updated: Updated 11/12/2011 02:37 PM
By: Ryan Peterson
This week on "Your Home" we're addressing wet basements. Following this summer's storms, many of you have been undoubtedly dealing with water in your basement. If you're cellar gets water regularly and you don't have a sump pump, listen up.
“When you put a system into a basement you want to size the pump correctly based on the area it's in and information from the customer about how much water they've had in the past. We do sump pumps where we install just one pump. We have systems where we have six to eight pumps in one basement,” said Dry basement expert Kevin Koval.
Whether you have one or multiple pumps installed, Koval said it's important to have a battery back-up online as well.
“When we install a system we want to make sure the basement is dry all of the time, not just when the electricity is on or the pump is functioning. A battery back-up pump will continue to run regardless of whether there's electricity or a primary pump failure,” said Koval.
If you live along the river or any other extremely flood prone area, a lone sump pump, according to Koval, isn't going to cut it. You should seriously consider installing what is essentially a fail proof system.
“A sump pump alone is not going to keep a basement dry. But having a full perimeter system and getting the water to the pump and then pumping it out is what the heart of the system is. The basement should stay dry if you have a proper system with sump pumps. The ultimate system is to have an automatic start back-up generator with two pumps installed,” said Koval.
For those with newly installed or existing systems, Koval recommends making sure it's actually functioning before any weather moves in. Make sure it's clean and free of any debris or build-up. Keep an eye on your gutters as well and make sure the land around your house is sloping away.
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