Sump Pits, Sump Pumps

DIY sump pump arrangement

While performing home inspections over the years I have seen many different arrangements of sump pumps. Some of them good, some of them bad. This one is not the worst I have seen but it does come close.  This pit is a five gallon bucket with holes drilled into it which is certainly better than nothing. However, there is a manufactured pit available that can be obtained for a reasonable price that will allow room for your pump and a back up system. I strongly recommend a back up system! The discharge hose on this pump is a flexible hose and lacks a back flow preventer. The flex hose will eventually crack and leak from movement every time the pump runs. A back flow preventer stops water from running back into the empty pit once the pump stops running. A licensed plumber would install a manufactured pit, back flow preventer and use Schedule 40 PVC pipe from the pump all the way through the wall penetration to the exterior of the home. A flex hose can be used from that point on but there are better ways to do that too. The pump they have is a non submersible pedestal pump. I prefer to go with a heavy duty submersible pump. Something like this.

Discharging into the city sewer

If you have your sump pump set to discharge into the city sewer system you may be asking for trouble. Most municipalities do not allow this as it can stress the municipal waste water treatment system, especially during storms and snow melt. An overburdened waste water system may overflow into local creeks and streams. If this happens you can bet the dept. of natural resources will be in your town imposing fines and potentially mandating that your city rebuild the waster water system. This can cost anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars depending what needs to be done and who does it. All of that money has to come from somewhere and you can bet it will be transferred from your wallet in the form of higher water costs. So if your pump is discharging into the sewer you should have it repaired by a licensed plumber as soon as possible.

Don’t forget to visit the website at www.eiowainspections.com to read more blog posts about home inspections and the things that I find.