fbpx

My Sump Pump Stopped Working

My Sump Pump Stopped Working

If your sump pump stopped working, you may have had a nasty wake-up call when your bottom floor was suddenly flooding! Even if you found out before disaster struck, it’s always alarming when a vital part of your home’s waterproofing system is suddenly not working. Fortunately, POM Waterproofing is here to help.

Why Your Sump Pump Stopped Working

If your sump pump has stopped working, it could be caused by a number of problems. Here are a few of the most common:

Broken Drain Pipe

If your basement is flooding, but you can still hear the sump pump’s motor running, it’s likely that something is going wrong with the drain. One such thing could be a broken drain pipe. Because your sump pump drains water through a drain pipe buried in the ground, there’s always the chance of collapse. This is more common in older drains, as pipes weaken over the years.

This can be checked through camera inspection. Once confirmed, we’ll dig up the broken portion of the drain pipe and replace it with a new one. Then, your sump pump will be back in working order.

Clogged Drain

Even easier to fix is a clogged drain. While your sump pump drain, presumably, isn’t getting hair in it like a shower drain, it can still clog. Unfortunately, the cause, in this case, is usually an animal. If a rat or other creature looking for a nice, cozy place to hide gets into the drain, it may get stuck. That pipe’s not so cozy anymore, is it?

Removing a blockage from the sump pump drain can be done easily with a snake or other plumbing device.

Broken Motor

Unfortunately, not all fixes are quick and cheap, like snaking. If the motor is broken, it will need to be replaced. Motors can break if they’re faulty, or if they’ve just been running a lot. Even if your basement doesn’t need that much water pumped out, the motor going on and off for many years can wear it out.

Loss of Power

Fortunately, your motor no longer running doesn’t necessarily mean it’s broken. Sometimes it’s a loss of power. This can happen, most commonly, one of two ways:

  1. One of your home’s circuits blew a fuse. If your basement is on a different circuit than the ones you usually use, you may not have noticed.
  2. A rat or other animal got its teeth on the cord or wires that service the sump pump. If this is the case, the rest of your home may be powered as normal, while the motor in the sump pump is just not getting any juice.

Sump Pump Repair

You’ll rarely have to replace the entire sump pump in the case that it’s not working. Instead, POM Waterproofing can help you repair it and get it back to working order. Don’t hesitate to call us if you have questions or need a service or motor quote. We look forward to helping in any way we can!