With the melting snow and spring showers, sump pumps are heavily relied upon in the spring months to keep homes dry. This makes spring an ideal time to perform maintenance on your sump pump, as well as evaluate your sump pump needs and consider upgrading or adding a battery backup to your current system.
Some basic maintenance tips to include cleaning the pump inlet screen, making sure the power cord is plugged in, and testing the pump by dumping a bucket of water in the sump pit to raise the float and turn on the pump. These are very simple, and should ideally be done every couple of months to ensure the sump pump is working properly.
A few more intensive maintenance items that should be done once a year include removing the sump pump from the pit and giving it a thorough cleaning and inspection, cleaning out the sump pit of any debris, and greasing the pump bearings if required.
These simple maintenance tips should help keep your sump pump running smoothly all year-round, and should keep you basement dry as well.