By Erik Forbes

The problem with basements is that they are a natural catchall. Gravity seems to pull all sorts of unused and obsolete objects into basements. When this clutter is mixed with a few inches of water brought in after a heavy rain, two things happen. One, all the clutter is ruined and two, the clutter becomes much more precious than it ever was.

Water manages to seep in through basement walls. Photo courtesy of Tuff-N-Dri.

So, for the sake of all that clutters, and what it might fetch on eBay, consider installing a sump pump. This is basically a pump in the lowest part of your basement that will turn on automatically if the basement starts filling with water.

Sump Pumps to Consider
There are basically three types of sump pumps commonly used two electric and one water-powered.

• Pedestal: an electric pump with a motor a couple feet above the pump so it cannot get wet and a float activated switch that turns the pump on when the water reaches a certain level.
• Submersible: an electric pump installed inground and designed to work under water. It has the same float-activated switch.
• Water-powered: a pump that runs off the water pressure from your home plumbing system with the same float-activated switch. These pumps handle water at a much slower rate than the electric varieties. But because they require no electricity to operate, you still have a pumping system.

Electric pumps have a built-in drawback if the power goes out, as it often can during severe weather, they require a battery backup to operate. Battery backups can be expensive.

Sump Pump Standards
Installing a sump pump is relatively simple and a good do-it-yourself project, but there are some dos and don'ts to consider.

• Make sure that water is pumped a good distance away from your basement so it cannot seep or flow back in.
• Have a check-valve installed on the output line so water that is pumped up the pipe does not come back down again when the pump cycles off. A check-valve will keep the water flowing in the out-direction only.
• Never plumb the output from a sump pump into your sewer system. During rainstorms this might overload your municipal system and cause complications if your own waste system backs-up.
• Be sure your pump has its own circuit so that it will not overload a shared circuit at a critical time.

A Sump In Time Saves Slime
Even if you prefer that everything stored in your basement would just float away, a sump pump is still a wise investment. First of all, the junk you dont want isnt going to float away in a flooded basement; its just going to get wet, smelly and messy.

Besides, several inches of water can often cause several thousand dollars in damage to basement structures and fixtures furnaces, water heaters and appliances. Wet concrete or brick is tough to dry and the resulting mold and mildew can cause health problems.