What on earth would you do without your sump pump? When it operates smoothly you tend to take it for granted but if it has a problem, your life can be turned upside down. The drainage system in most homes works because of the sump pump. If your sump pump breaks down, it could mean the flooding of your basement and therefore a lot of damage. So it is in your interest to make sure that you follow all the necessary instructions and keep it working in a trouble-free manner. Make sure you install it by closely following all the steps in the manual and then make sure of its maintenance and operation.



No matter what kind of a sump pump you have, you will have to contend with problems at some point of time or the other. Which is why all the manuals have very similar pump failure prevention tips. The most important thing you have to do is to keep your pump clean. These pumps have a knack of getting blocked with dirt and a whole lot of other muck. So it gets clogged and your problems begin. Here, prevention is always better than cure so keep it clean at all times. This could prevent the control switch getting broken or jammed and could also prevent a burned out motor. The main area of dirt build-up is at the inlet screen. Sure, this is supposed to filter out the dirt but too much of it and it gets clogged. How do you undertake this cleaning process? Donning a pair of gloves, clean out the dirt. Then fill the pump with water using a hose pipe. As the water level rises, the pump should start automatically. If it doesn't, you got problems!

Go and fish out your manual and flip to the troubleshooting section. There will be a section on what to do if your sump pump dos not come on even when the water fills up. Maybe your electrical system needs looking at. Check the outlet it is plugged into. If it still does not start, this is what the manual instructs you to do: reset the switch, check to see if it works, check the motor to see if it has burned out, then check the float switch to see if it is working all right. Try moving it up and down. If there is some debris still on it, this should dislodge it and you might find that the pump suddenly starts working again. Your switch may need to be replaced quite often too so keep tabs on that as well.

Most important, you have to do proper maintenance. This is such an important part of your home and just a little care will ensure that you save yourself a whole heap of trouble and money later. The damage that can be caused to your home with the sump pump not working and your home getting flooded is too messy to even consider. Like we said, this is one place where prevention is infinitely better than cure.