Having a sump pump in your home is useful for preventing your basement or crawl space from flooding. To help you understand why having a working sump pump is so important, here is a quick overview of how precipitation can lead to flooding and how a sump pump works to prevent it.
How Rain and Snowmelt Can Cause Your Home to Flood
Any time there is lots of rain or quickly melting snow, much of the water will start soaking into the ground around your home’s foundation. This can eventually lead to the water level rising high enough that it can start seeping into your basement or crawl space. The reason that this can happen is that concrete is naturally porous. When the ground becomes overly saturated, all of the pressure it exerts on your foundation can essentially start forcing the water through the pores in your foundation walls or up through the concrete floor in your basement.
How a Sump Pump Can Prevent Flooding
Sump pumps are mounted inside a sump basin or pit, which is essentially a hole that extends up to 3 feet below the basement or crawl space floor. Whenever the soil around and beneath the foundation becomes saturated, water will start to collect in the sump basin instead of seeping through the foundation walls or floor. Once the water in the basin rises above a certain level, it triggers the sump pump to turn on. The unit then works to pump the water up out of the basin and then through a series of pipes that direct all of the water a safe distance away from the home.
If you didn’t have a sump pump, all of the water would instead start flooding your home and could quickly lead to severe water damage and mold growth. Having your basement or crawl space flood can also seriously damage your foundation and the underlying structure of your home and potentially force you to spend thousands of dollars on repairs.
Contact Us
At Dog House, our team of licensed plumbers can help if you need a sump pump installed or any other residential plumbing service in Brunswick or the surrounding areas. Our professional HVAC technicians can also take care of all of your heating and air conditioning needs so your home stays comfortable year-round. Contact Dog House today to find out more about how a sump pump can help protect your home from flooding.
