Basement Waterproofing Case Studies: Why Sump Pump Service and Maintenance is Important

Tuesday, June 28th, 2022 by Dan Bomar

Challenge

This Ashburn VA homeowner called complaining about a musty smell in their basement. They had no obvious signs of water in the basement so they had not been too worried about it until the smell had started to worsen over time. When our home team came out to try and find a solation, it didn't take long.

Solution

The sump pump in this home had not been serviced since its original installation years ago. In that time mud and silt had built up inside, clogging the sump pump and rendering it useless. As a result the little water that had come into the basement which should have easily been pumped away would instead find its way into the carpeting and baseboards. This lead to mold a mildew which was the smell the homeowners had noticed. Gone unnoticed this could have been a serious health issue for the homeowners.

This is why annual inspection of your sump pump is vital to the proper performance of your home and can keep you from getting sick over time.

Call us for service or maintenance of any sump pump, even if we didn't install it.

This is what the top of most sump pumps look like. If you have one i your home, you should open it up periodically and make sure that it is not filled with mud.

This is the inside of this sump pump filled with mud and debris. The motor had stopped and any water in the basement would not be able to be pumped out.