Sump pumps are known to be a very useful piece of machinery, but sometimes they can end up malfunctioning and will stop working. Since the sump pump is normally found in your basement, your basement can start flooding if your sump pump breaks. In the case of a sump pump failure, there are a few things you can do to keep it from further damaging your home.
Clean It Up Immediately with a Mop
Since your basement will be the first thing that starts flooding, head down there and clean the excess water up immediately. The longer this water stays on your floors, the more damaging it can be to your home.
Mop the mess up, put all the flood water into your mop bucket, and dump it outside. Be sure to dump this flood water as far away from your home as possible. The last thing you want is the dirty floodwater getting anywhere near your home. You can also use a wet/dry vacuum if you have one around, to make your job a little easier.
Use a Power Outage Pump
If you have a hand pump in your possession, this can be very helpful with cleaning your sump pump mess. Place the hand pump inside of the hole of the sump pump. Then, you’ll attach your garden hose to the other end of your hand pump.
You’ll want to drain any excess water from your pump outside of your house. Similar to cleaning it with a mop, make sure you’re dumping this far away from your home as well.
Install a Battery Backup
The not so great news regarding sump pumps is they’re known to fail from time to time. The great news is that people are aware of this and have prepared ahead for the sump pump failure to occur. This is why battery backups were invented.
A backup for your sump pump can be placed in the sump basin of your main sump pump. They operate on battery power from 12 to 24 volts. These backup pumps can be installed by using two different discharge pipes. One is an independent discharge pipe and the other is the central discharge pipe.
When the main sump pump begins to fail at keeping the water from flooding your basement, it’s normally because it can’t keep up with the amount of water entering it. This is when the backup pump steps in. When there is a large rainstorm, the backup pump will be sure to keep the water from flooding your home in case the main sump pump fails to do so.
Hire a Restoration Service for Your Sump Pump Failure
When this happens, sometimes your best option to handle a sump pump malfunction is hiring a service to help you properly clean up the mess. Professionals, like HS Waterproofing, can help properly empty the water from your home quickly and efficiently. Contact us to learn more about how we can help your home after it experiences damages from sump pump failure.