Make Basement Great Again: Dump the Pump

A few months ago J noticed that she hadn't heard the sump pump run in a while. I agreed to look at it, then forgot. We both did. A few weeks ago I noticed the basement seemed a bit damp. A few days ago I finally put it all together and opened up the sump basin.

Yuck. Full to the brim with oily water. At least it hadn't overflowed. I unplugged the pump. After removing about 8 gallons of water with the bilge pump, I had only reduced the water level a couple of inches.

I then took a flashlight to the basin and looked more carefully to see if anything looked amiss. There's supposed be a float switch that activates the pump. I whacked it a few times, but nothing happened. Then I realized that it was still unplugged.

Success!

Well, not quite. The float valve thing keeps getting stuck in the bottom of the sump basin. So it doesn't turn on when the water rises. I managed to wedge it in the 'up' position, so every few days I just plug it in and let it run for a few minutes.

Eventually we got a plumber out and he said the oily water was from the pump itself. The seals have degraded and oil is leaking out. He also said the check valve, which controls whether water goes in or out, also needed replacing. In a few days he'll get us a quote on replacing the pump and check valve. Hopefully it won't be much. In the meantime, I'll keep manually activating the pump to control the water.