When it rains, soggy landscape, water in the streets and puddles are expected. However, when there’s no rain but your lawn or landscape squishes like a homemade swamp, there’s only a few things that end up causing that kind of situation.
Either, the local city municipal water feed line has broken, a fire hydrant is broken somewhere nearby and the water is residue, or your sump pump drainage system in your basement isn’t doing its job well. And if you find that same puddling in your basement, the sump pump is definitely failing.
How a Sump Pump is Supposed to Work
A properly functioning sump pump system is designed take water out of a lower area, like a basement, and through pump action press that water through a drain system to a place well outside of the house. Because of gravity and the fact that water can make its way through cement, immediately surrounding water on the perimeter of a home can seep into the basement. As it does, the sump pump will do its job, move that water going into the basement drain out, and ideally to an exit site far away from the home.
Sump pump designs were created from earlier manual pumps that basically did the same thing with regards to keeping basements dry. Unfortunately, in those early days before electricity, pump working could take hours to perform to keep water out. Eventually, with bad storms, people just had to settle for a flooded basement until the rains stopped. With electricity, however, that changed, and the automatic pump moved water quickly as it drained into the floor catch basin. That design is still used today, as long as the pump is actively pushing captured water out and to its proper drainage destination.
Typical Symptoms When the Pump Doesn’t Work Right
If the sump pump fails completely then the most obvious sign of problems tends to be water pooling in a low area or basement. Basically, it’s not being removed and, since water follows gravity, it aggregates in the lower part of a foundation, including seeping from the nearby ground. When it becomes saturated, then the water has nowhere else to go, and the surrounding ground around the home stays soaked as well. Both landscape drainage and sump pump drainage play a key role in preventing this problem. Otherwise, the home and ground turns into a wet, smelly swamp very quickly. And that will also attract bugs like mosquitos.
A partially working sump will remove water from the basement, but it may not have enough strength to push the water all the way to its full destination. That may cause drainage to backflow. Additionally, if the sump can’t keep up with demand, water in the surrounding area can overwhelm it. Finally, if there is a break in the drain line before it gets to the desired destination, the water could just be leaking back into the ground nearest the home, flooding it again.
Getting Help the Right Way
The best way to deal with sump pump drainage issues involved bringing in a professional who already has experience troubleshooting sump pumps on a regular basis. Because of this experience, he or she is going to know how to check the entire system to find where it is struggling or failing, contributing to swampy landscape nearby.
Common Problem Areas and Prevention
Homes and areas with flat, low-lying levels as well as a lot of clay in the soil are going to be trouble-prone for drainage. And these issues can contribute to swampy ground problems, especially during the wet months. It’s during these seasons that a sump pump needs to work well, or a failure is going to be a big problem in the middle of a storm. Even if your pump doesn’t seem to be having any issues, a maintenance check on a regular basis is a good idea as well. Again, a professional can help in this regard, including applying cleaning and small repairs on the spot if needed.