Maintenance
What is the Difference Between a Sump Pump and a Sewage Pump?
A submersible sump pump is often an unsung hero, protecting your home from floods, removing water from under your home before it has a chance to enter and cause water damage. It’s generally installed in the lowest part of your home, which is usually the basement, but it may be a crawl space, garage or other portion of your home below grade.
Usually installed in a sump pit, sometimes with a battery backup or a backup pump it does its best work, out-of-sight by keeping the water level below your slab or floor. When there are heavy rains and the soil around your home becomes saturated, eventually, this water can seep into the basement, causing a flood in your storage or living space. When your sump pump runs properly it prevents flooding by pumping the water out of the basement and into your yard a nearby storm drain. During the rainy season in Jenkintown , you’ll be glad you have one.
This pump is needed when any kind of plumbing fixture (laundry, toilet, shower) is installed below the level of the main sewer or septic line. A sewage pump does exactly what the name implies— it pumps liquid and solid waste water up and into the septic tank or the sewer line. This pump plays an important role in the clean atmosphere of your home. If you need ejector pump service in, give us a call.
While both pumps are similar, and usually installed in the basement (sometimes right next to each other) their purposes are quite different. While the sump pump deals only with groundwater, the sewage ejector pump only deals with wastewater.
Like everything mechanical, one or both of the pumps in the basement need repair or replacement. How do you know when they should be repaired? The easy answer is that your pump will let you know with these little signs:
- Moldy or musty in the basement.
- Loud noises – grinding, banging, excessive vibration
- Not running when water has collected in the sump pit
- Cycling off and on irregularly
- When you look in the pit, the pump appears rusty
- Off odors in the basement
- Check valve not working properly
- Smell of smoke around the pump
- It won’t start.
With proper care and maintenance, Better quality pumps usually last seven to 10 years before needing to be replaced. As a rule of thumb, we recommend replacing a pump if it is older than 5 years and giving you issues. The cost of repair on an older pump may be better spent on installing a new unit that you know will give you years of uninterrupted service.
It’s important to keep your pumps in good working order as they protect your home. To do so, you will need to maintain them regularly to prevent pump fails. A well cared for pump can last decades. How do you know when they need to be replaced instead of repaired in Jenkintown
- If it’s been more than 5 years since a new pump was installed and you haven’t performed regular maintenance
- Either of the pumps begins to show one or more of the symptoms listed above
- If the pump simply refuses to run or turn on
- If you don’t know when it was last replaced and it starts showing symptoms listed above
These are all safety issues. Flooded basements (water or wastewater) can cause mold, mildew and a host of other larger health problems if they’re not taken care of quickly. We have the skilled technicians with top quality pumps ready to serve you in your {location(city_name)}.
The pumps in your Jenkintown basement are a vital part of your safe and clean home environment. If you have doubts about your pump’s performance, you can add a separate pump, (a backup sump pump, battery powered) in case of failure of your primary pump.
You can keep them running safely and properly with DIY maintenance or by contacting one of our team at Sump Pump Gurus in Jenkintown. Our technicians are expertly trained and here to serve you. Call Sump Pump Gurus, we’re standing by to help you resolve your sump pump and sewage ejector pump problems.
