Here at Ace Hardware Home Services, we know that you want to take the best possible care of your home and the systems that make it work, including the plumbing. In our experience, homeowners make better decisions about their plumbing repair and maintenance needs when they have a clear understanding of how their system works. To help you make informed decisions about your home’s plumbing, in this article our team will provide a brief overview of one of the key components in some homes called a sump pump. We’ll explain what sump pumps are and how they work to help you spot potential problems before they can become serious.
Starting with the basics, sump pumps are small pumps installed in the lowest part of a basement or crawlspace, and their job is to keep the area under the building dry and help prevent flooding. In most cases, sump pumps are installed in their own special pits. Water flows into the pit via drains or natural migration, and the sump pump then pumps it out of the pit and away from the building in order to keep the basement dry. Sump pumps are activated in one of two ways: with a pressure sensor or a float activator. A pressure sensor detects the presence of water by the greater pressure the water exerts, then sends a signal to activate the pump to start moving it out. A float activator uses a buoyant ball that floats on top of the water level, then activates the pump when the water level exceeds a certain threshold. Our team at Ace Hardware Home Services has over three generations of plumbing experience to draw on, so we can help with any kind of sump pump mechanism or problem.
We at Ace Hardware Home Services hope that this information has been helpful. If you are having problems with your sump pump, just give us a call to get our experts on the job.