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Plumbers of Chattanooga
Plumbers of Chattanooga
Plumbing · the Chattanooga area
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Sump Pump Repair

A pump that's struggling in ordinary rain has nothing left for the storms that fill the valley, so have it looked at before the next one rather than during it.

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When this becomes an emergency

What a pro does

Basements are common on this side of the state, and so is groundwater, which means a good number of homes here depend on a pump they never think about. The plumber tests it against water rather than by hand. A float lifted with a finger proves the switch works and proves nothing about whether the pump can actually keep up, so the pit is filled and the level watched while the pump runs. The check valve gets attention next, because a valve that isn't holding drops the same column of water back into the pit and produces the rapid on-off cycling that wears a motor out in a season. Where the discharge ends is the third thing, and on hillside lots around Soddy-Daisy or Signal Mountain it's the one most often wrong, with a line dumping partway down a slope that drains straight back toward the footing. Storms coming up the valley put down a lot of water in a short window, and the Tennessee River holding high afterwards keeps the water table up for days, so what matters is sustained duty rather than a quick test.

Frequently asked questions

Because the pit fills from groundwater, not from the sky directly. Rain soaks in over hours and the water table under the lot stays elevated well after the weather clears, particularly when the river is running high. A pump working for a day or two after a storm is usually doing its job rather than failing.
Nearly always a check valve that isn't sealing, which lets the water in the discharge pipe fall back into the pit the moment the pump stops. The float then trips again immediately. It's a small part causing a lot of wear, and it's one of the first things a plumber checks.
Storms that fill a basement are the same storms that take the power out, which is the entire argument for one. A primary pump on a dead circuit during the heaviest few hours of a system moving through the valley is exactly the gap a backup covers, and the pit fills fastest at precisely that moment.
Local rules generally prohibit it, and for good reason, since sending groundwater into a sanitary system overloads it during the very storms it's least able to take it. Discharge belongs outside and away from the foundation, and the local utility can confirm what's permitted where you are.

Sump Pump Repair?

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