Water in the basement

laorquidia

Ok - sorry if I'm not in the right section. Please move as needed. We have a French drain in our basement (installed before we purchased home) - it empties into a pit and we have a sump pump. We lost power last night (maybe for 2 hours - guessing from one of the clocks) and again this afternoon for 2 hours. I went into the basement today and there are water puddles all over the place.... Do I need to restart the sump pump somehow? Shouldn't it have kicked on after the power returned? I plan on getting a battery back up sump pump, but in the mean time do I just use a wet vac? The water isn't going to seep back into the drain right? Sorry if this is confusing (and dare i say it dumb sounding) this is my first experience with a wet basement....thanks.

gregzoll

If you have puddles, it could have been due to water intrusion caused by downspouts not extended away from the house, along with clogged gutters. If the sump was off for only two hours, unless you had a river rushing in, it would have been fine. The one thing you do not want, is the sump getting knocked out more than 3 to 4 hours if you are on a high water table.

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oh'mike

You got wet when the pump had no power --some water ended up on top of the floor----either vacuum it up or squeegee it down the drain--and set up some fans----do check and make sure the pump is working---

If you aren't sure how to do that---let us know---someone will walk you through the process---Mike---

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laorquidia

Ok, I don't know how to check the pump, please help. I'll try to squeege it before vacuuming it...

laorquidia

Ok - the pump is humming, but it doesn't seem like it's pumping. If I press the lever it stops humming and when the float goes up it starts humming, but it doesnt appear to be pumping water out...

oh'mike

Not good---pump may be jammed with debris---

outlet pipe stopped up--back flow valve jammed--

or the pump is just seized up---

Get a new pump---and a fresh back flow valve--and a thread fitting--length of PVC and some glue---and replace it--

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gregzoll

Looks like it needs to get pulled out. All of the time you have spent asking here and waiting for a answer, you could have had it pulled, checked to see if something is clogging the pipe or impeller and had it fixed. Bad thing is, if there has been a run on sump pumps at everyplace including Farm & Home stores, you are going to have to find an alternative or pay more for a plumbing company to sell you one.

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