Thining about a Sump Pump....

[Brown Bear]

I've been battling water in my basement for ten years. I've had spots blue-skinned. Last summer I dug up my entire yard and put in a french drain. After thinking my issues are over, I decided we would take over our basement apartment and I'd finally have a toyroom of my own.

Then, Monday when we ripped out the sink we found mold. we then ripped out the steps and floor in the basement apartment entrance way and there it was.....more water!!

I'm faced with two options. I can dig up my basckyard a second time and blue-skin the back of the house OR I can go get a sump pump. I've always been nervous about sump pumps backing up and flooding, especially since my mego collection will be on display down there.

Any of my friends here have a sump pump? I'm looking to be educated on your experiences.

[enyawd72]

I have one and it works great...without one you just have to hope no water gets in. Just get one with a battery backup in case the power goes out. They're less than $150 and worth every penny.

Ours is a submersible that's in a drainage pit in the basement. If the water level goes up even a couple inches it kicks on and pumps it all out in seconds.

[Nostalgiabuff]

definitely have a batter back up. also, don't have any of your collection on the floor or within 6 inches of it

[cjefferys]

We live near the lake and have a high water table, so a sump pump in the basement is an absolute necessity. We have a powerful pedestal pump (submersible, it's much quieter and if it needs to work overtime we don't have to worry about the motor overheating) plus a back up pump that runs on water power, connected to our water lines. It's better than a battery back up because if the power is out for a day or more (it's happened) we don't have to worry about a battery draining out.

[SentientApe]

We have two of them, and I sleep easy at night, even when it's raining. A year ago, one of them have it and the resultant mess was an absolute nightmare. I lost a huge portion of my comic book collection.

[LonnieFisher]

I used to have a basement with two sump pumps and they failed repeatedly. At least only one at a time went out. I lost a lot of stuff to mold and water damage. I suggest adding a toy room to the house and not using the basement.

[Mikey]

Wondering if digging a trench around the house and burring a 6 - 8" drainage pipe might help ?

This kind, but it must have the holes

http://www.agrisupply.com/equipment-supplies/pipe-corrugated-plastic-drain-c-3200005.php

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[The Bat]

I had a Sump Pump in my 2nd house...HATED IT! First, when the guy installed it he didn't put in a "back flow valve" ...so once it was submerged it would pump constantly. So I got that fixed. Then, as other people stated...once the power goes out they don't work. Instead of a battery, I went with a generator. Which is better because if the power is out for any length of time, you'll have power throughout the house. I would power my furnace, well pump, refrigerator, coffee maker and the TV set.

[Rallygirl]

We are required by building code to have sump pits, but some folks choose to not put pumps in them. Even though our basement had not seen a drop of water in twelve years, we always had pumps handy in case we needed them. In May of 2013, we got seven inches of rain in a couple hours and did we ever need those pumps. We have a whole-house generator that automatically kicks in if the power has been out for more than a few minutes.

[EMCE Hammer]

I can tell you from experience that two weren't enough for me during the last deluge. There's no such thing as overkill. I've never heard of water-powered back-up before, that idea sounds great. Generator and battery back-up both have their drawbacks, but one or both is a must. Keep everything off the floor, and I suggest tile with rugs for floor covering. My parents did that after years of intermittent floods and it's made their life a lot easier.

[Brown Bear]

Thanks guys. Lots of great advise.

[MIB41]

I have a main pump and a back up, but I learned never to trust a battery backup. I did that once before and both failed on me. Fortunately I was in the middle of moving everything to storage to do updates and was spared any significant damage. I now have my backup set to run off the house water. Instead of electricity, it runs off water pressure, so if the power goes out, you don't have to worry about the battery lasting for the life of the outage. And it's no more expensive on your water bill than flushing the toilet. It's already saved me about three times from long outages so it more than pays for itself. If water can get in past that protection, then it was just meant to be. But I would definitely put in a pump with a solid backup system.

[cjefferys]

Oh yeah, the water power backup has already come in handy. Power outages can happen, batteries can run out, but you can almost always depend on having water pressure (as long as you pay your bill ). Ours cost $100 at Costco (installation cost will depend on how easy it would be to run a water line to your pump area).