Sometimes homeowners like to think that once they own a portable sump pump, all their problems at home are finished with. That’s not actually the case at all because freak storms, bad plumbing and the resulting flooding doesn’t come with a simple solution.

There are sometimes reasons that even a sump pump will be unsuccessful in keeping a basement dry. Here are few of the things that come to mind.

Low Capacity

Sump pumps come in all shapes and sizes, and pumping capacities. A small dinky sump pump will only provide a certain amount of water pumping abilities. Some homeowners discover this to their peril when a flood occurs and the basement still floods. They shake their head in frustration and don’t know why it happened or what to do next.

With a low capacity issue, the sump pump simply cannot keep up with a certain flow of incoming water and pump it out fast enough to prevent the water level rising. In this situation, when a sump pump alarm is fitted, this should audibly go off to let the homeowner know.

Faulty Sensors

There’s a sensor on most sump pump that helps trigger the alarm system when water reaches that level. When the sensor is acting up or has gone wrong completely, then the pump won’t trigger to start up and begin pumping. Not all sump pumps have a manual activation button to start them without the sensor triggering it either.

Faulty Float Mechanism

The float mechanism that moves up as the water rises causing it to float higher and then triggering the sensor could have gone wrong. Either the float gets a puncture and sinks rather than floats, or it can become detached from the system altogether preventing the triggering that ultimately causes the pump to begin pumping water out. Just like any system, sometimes it goes wrong which is why it should be regular checked.

Faulty Pump

The pump mechanism that pushes water out and away from the basement can sometimes fail. This may require extra replacement parts to fix this issue should the main pump fail. It may require a repair where the whole sump pump must be taken apart to repair it, in which case it’s worth consider the cost of parts and labor compared to replacing the unit altogether and having it refitted and the faulty one removed.

Failed Engine

The engine itself that drives the pump could fail. Without the engine working, the pump won’t dispel water either. A failed engine is a serious problem. Outside of a warranty, it should be strongly questioned whether to repair it or replace the whole unit.

Mistaken Believe That A Sump Pumps Out All Water

Sump pumps don’t pump out every last drop of water. They usually leave a few millimeters of water in the basement area. This is normal. Other methods must be used to remove this surface water quickly.

Blocked Outward Pipe

An outward pipe can become blocked outside or get a blockage partway through the pipe which blocks water from being pumped out. This must be fixed quickly to avoid a serious issue here.