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A flooded basement can cause you a substantial
loss. A standard protection against this
hazard is a sump system, designed to collect
whatever water infiltrates your foundation
and pump it away from your house (typically
out to a discharge point somewhere in your
yard). At the heart of the system is an electric
sump pump located in a small pit at the lowest
point in the basement.
Sump pumps wear out over time,
and they need
to be replaced every dozen years
or so (ideally
before a flooded basement tells
you that
your system isn’t working). Home
centers
and hardware stores stock a variety
of models,
and some basic information will
help you
understand their different features:
Be sure not to confuse the distinction between
a primary pump and a secondary (or backup)
system. Standard sump pump systems assume
that your water problem is independent of
any power outage, even though heavy rainstorms
may also knock out the electricity to your
house—disabling your sump pump when you might
need it the most. Accordingly, you can buy
sump pumps that are powered by either special
batteries (think “extra heavy duty car battery”)
or even the water pressure in your home’s
standard water lines. However, these systems
are light duty and are intended only for
brief emergency use when your regular sump
pump fails to operate. Still, if you want
greater protection against the risk of flood
damage, they are worth considering as a supplement
to the primary sump pump that you are replacing. |
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