Blog

Signs Your Sump Pump is About to Fail

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Melbourne Plumber

Your sump pump is an incredibly important part of your home, but it is often overlooked. It gets forgotten about until it stops functioning, then it gets a lot of attention. Instead of waiting for it to fail, it is best to consider signs that your sump pump may need some help. Here are a few signs you need to make sure you take note of so you can avoid a sump pump failure when you need it most.

Your Sump Pump Frequently Goes On and Off
Your sump pump is designed to kick on when the water in your pit rises, push the water out, and turn off again. However, if it comes on and clicks back off a few seconds later, plus does this repeatedly, that is a definite sign that your sump pump is struggling. You may need to adjust the float, as that can cause this to happen, but if your float is working properly, it is time to call in a Melbourne plumber. They can see if your sump pump is fixable, or if it needs to be replaced.

Extended Run Times
Normally, your sump pump should kick on, run for 10-30 seconds depending on how far the water needs to travel, and kick off again. If you happen to notice your sump pump kick on and stay that way for several minutes, this is a sign of a problem. Typically, this will tell you that your sump pump needs more power to move the water. This could be that it isn’t strong enough to pump out the volume of water that you are trying to move, or it could be that the distance is too far for the sump pump to push. Either way, this often means that your sump pump requires a replacement.

Sump pumps need to be checked on regularly to make sure they are more likely to work when storms hit. Considering the weather around Melbourne, Florida, you want to make sure that if the water rises, your home isn’t going to be underwater if you can help it. Listen to yours when it kicks on now and again to make sure it isn’t telling you that it needs help. During the middle of a crisis is not the time to find out that your sump pump needed repairs, as that could lead to thousands of dollars in damage.