Smell a rotten, moldy odor? Hear loud banging or grinding sounds? Looking at a new indoor swimming pool in the basement? These are all signs of a malfunctioning or non-functioning sump pump. Sump pumps keep water out of your basement, ensuring it continues working will save you money.
If you notice a distinct wet, rotten smell coming from your basement you need a professional inspect immediately. The smell is bad enough, but the mold will spread behind the drywall to the rest of your house and cause serious respiratory problems for the people and animals in the home. If not caught early this can make your home uninhabitable.
Banging, grinding, and humming sounds coming from your pump means mechanical failure. Sump pumps should be neither seen nor heard. This can be caused by the motor struggling to pump and/or blocked and clogged pipes. Consider a loud sump pump as a warning sign for an impending flood. It may not happen tomorrow, but it will happen.
The most obvious sign of a malfunctioning sump pump is your basement flooding. You will notice this more in rainy conditions but moisture can accumulate even on dry days because of ground water. Working as intended, your sump pump will keep all water out of your basement. A flooded basement will cost you thousands in repairs and cause lasting damage to the foundation and upper floors of your home by allowing mold to grow.
All sump pumps will eventually fail. The average life span of a sump pump is 10 years. If you haven’t checked yours lately, have it inspected. A good idea is to have a backup that can carry the extra load of a heavy rainstorm, and perform well enough to take over if the other fails. Remember, a little preventative maintenance will go a long, long way.
Is your sump pump running efficiently? Having plumbing issues in Oklahoma City? Then call Hull Plumbing today at (405) 246-9763 and let one of our experts take care of the problem for you.
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