Top 3 Sump Pump Mistakes Homeowners Make
It would be easy to say that one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make right away when it comes to sump pumps is not having one, in the first place. You can make big changes to your home by finding a reliable plumber and getting your home protected with a sump pump.
However, there are common mistakes homeowners make even if they already have one of these devices or are already planning on having one installed. The bottom line is that it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, in relation to your basement taking on water.
In fact, more than likely, you’ve already experienced moisture intrusion in the lower level of your home, if not a full scale flooded basement. Have a pump in place to remove excess water before you even know it’s a risk of happening.
Avoiding Sump Pump Mistakes
There are factors that impact whether or not you’re a likely candidate to take on water. Although almost every home is at some type of risk, some factors that effect this are:
- Home Location
- Age of the Home
- Water Table Level for Location
If you know or even suspect you may be at risk, the smartest thing to do is outfit your home with a sump pump. However, as with any home improvement project, you also want to avoid some common mistakes:
- Getting shoddy installation and maintenance.
- Don’t attempt to DIY your service, or leave it to cut rate so-called pros. Opt for good value which is high quality service and parts for an affordable price. Choosing the cheapest plumber for installation or maintenance is how you end up with a poor performing pump that tends to need repairs.
- Don’t forget to plan for power loss.
- A very common cause of flooding is storm activity. These storms often tend to knock out the power, too. If you experience a blackout during a storm with heavy rain, which means there’s no power to activate the sump pump, so you’re still going to find water in your basement. Have a backup generator that kicks in and takes over in the event that you lose power during a storm.
- Failure to test and maintain your sump pump.
- Just because you hire the best of the best to install your sump pump, which also happens to be the best of the best on the market, doesn’t mean your sump can’t ever fail. It’s critical that you’re proactive about ongoing testing instead of waiting to find out during a storm that it’s not working.
When it comes to finding a St. Paul plumber to provide you with great results, give our pros at Matt’s Plumbing Solutions a call.