Sump pumps are used to remove water that collect in a sump pit. Sump pits, are used in basement homes to collect water that may be under the foundation of collect in the basement from broken water lines. The water typically gets into a basement because of rain or because of natural ground water, if the basement is below the water table level.

Sump pumps are also used if your houses lower floor is lower that the sewer lines that are used to carry the waste away. You have to raise your waste water up to get it into the sewer. Sump pumps are typically installed in basements where flooding is seen as a problem, but are also used where the water table is normally above the foundation of a home. Sump pumps move water away from a house so that it will no longer present a problem. Some older houses may have their sump pumps installed to the city sewer, but this is no longer allowed by code because it can overload the sewage treatment plant.

Sump pumps are normally wired into your home’s electrical system, and should have a battery backup. Instead of electricity some sump pump systems use the homes water pressure to power the sump pump. If your pump is working a lot you may want to install a backup sump pump for incase your main pump fails or in case you have lot of water from rain.

In general there are two main types of sump pump systems, Submersible and Pedestal.

Submersible sump pumps sit inside the sump pit and use a submersible motor. These types have a cover over the pit and are less intrusive and easer to hide away.

Pedestal sump pumps have the motor sitting above the water with a collection pipe in the sump pit. With the motor sticking up in the air they are not as easy to hide away and may be nosier that the submersible pumps.

There is no real advantage to either type other than looks. Both move the same amount of water and are maintained in the same way. Backup pumps are almost always used when you have a finished basement because there is a need to protect your investment.

Sump pump installation can be a do it yourself project if you are handy but remember you are working with water and electricity. If you are the least bit unsure get a professional to help. You will also need to check on what the code is for your area as to how and where you can drain the water. Some areas may require that you have a filtering system to capture any oils of chemicals that may end up in the pit. So before doing a sump pump installation check your skill sets and codes.