My daughter is house/dog sitting and the sump pump in the basement of the house has stopped working due to severe thunderstorms we have been having everyday. There is a few inches of water and I'm wondering is it safe for me to wear boots and try and reset the sump pump and also check the circuit breaker board? The people she is housesitting for didn't leave an emergency plumber or electrician #. Don't know how long the pump hasn't been running (probably a day or so). Thanks so much for any help.
I would never say any activity was absolutely safe. If you feel uncomfortable investigating the sump pump, don't do it. That being said, one should be able to check it out safely. Thunder storms often cause Ground Fault Interupters (GFI's) to trip, but not usually circuit breakers. Circuit breakers are designed to respond more slowly to overcurrent than a GFI responds to a possible ground fault.
By all means start by checking the circuit breakers. If they look good, see if the sump pump is pluged into a GFI outlet and reset that.
Not being able to see the situation I'd advise against it. Stick a submersible pump in the basement to drain the water then go down.
Also is your sump pump submersible? If it isn't do not try to turn it on. I've seen people do that one before. Fortunately they only burnt out the pump and not themselves.
Go with Marlin's idea. We don't want to get anybody electrocuted from lack of knowledge.
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