Why Do You Need a Sump Pump For Your Home

Unfortunately, many homeowners learn the answer to this question the hard way—when the basement is all flooded, everything from the floor to 15 inches up are submerged in flood water, and a simple, working sump pump could have prevented the disaster.

The sump pump is a peculiar piece of household appliance. It’s something that works but you don’t get to see it, and it’s something that you can’t brag about with the neighbors because in most cases, it’s off limits.

We know that a sump pump should—at least in most cases—mean a dry basement, no matter which state you are in and no matter how high your town’s water table is. But how do they work? Water is everywhere, and gravity causes water to collect in deeper, empty or porous spaces. If your basement happens to be one of those lower places, it’s likely to get wet when too much water accumulates in the water table.

When water collects around your home’s foundation—both from underground sources and such causes as rains and storms—it can push through walls and floors and end up inside the house. Sump pumps keep this from happening by pumping water out of a dug pit where it is supposed to collect, and pumping it away from the house to a safe place.

The most important component of sump pumps is the float switch, which operates in the exact opposite way that floats in toilet tanks work. In a sump pump, the float switch turns on the motor when the water reaches a certain level. In a toilet, the water stops flowing in when the float reaches a specific water level.

Back to the question that we started out with—do you need a sump pump or can you live without it? Your answer should depend on how much investment you’ve placed in your basement, and how valuable the things that you keep there are. If you don’t mind them swimming in six inches of water, then you can probably do without a sump pump. But make sure you also don’t mind living with the risk of fire from short-circuiting washers, dryers and water heaters because of the flood, and the long-term damage that water can do to your house’s foundation. And aside from triggering the deterioration of anything that’s made of wood, water and dampness also breeds mildew and mold—which can be bad for the health. Seriously, sump pumps are indispensable, especially when you live in a city with a high water table.

Unlike what most people may think, a good drainage system is not a substitute for installing a sump pump. Water is everywhere. And when water begins to accumulate into high volumes, its innate hydrostatic pressure enables it to push its way into your property, soaking and destroying everything on its way. When you think you’ve got everything covered—clear gutters and drains, drain pipes that draw water away from the house, and downspouts that point away from your foundation—and your basement still floods, it’s time you rethink your options.