If you have a sump pump installed in your Hagerstown, MD or Frederick, MD home, it has probably been working hard throughout the winter, keeping water out of your basement so you don’t have a flood on your hands. Now that spring is here, it’s time to show it some love.
It is important to keep up with your Hagerstown sump pump maintenance to ensure that you do not experience issues that require expensive sump pump repairs or even need a new one later! If you don’t know what signs to look for when determining if and how to clean your sump pump, call Larry and Sons to have a trained HVAC technician come take a look today! If you’ve determined to clean it yourself make sure you are following these steps:
How To Clean Your Sump Pump
- Turn off your sump pump. If it does not have a switch or a plug, you may need to temporarily flip the circuit breaker that it is on.
- Disconnect the sump pump from the discharge pipe.
- Wrap the pump in plastic wrap or in a tarp to prevent leaking, then carry it outside.
- Use a garden hose to spray off dirt, clay, or sludge from the outside surface of your pump. If you need to, use a putty knife or a plastic scraper to remove caked-on debris. Put the pump somewhere safe and, preferably, in the sun so it can dry.
- Use a shop vac or any wet/dry vac to remove excess water from the sump pit.
- If you can disassemble your check valve, do so and drain it. Then rinse it, let it dry, and reassemble it.
- Check to make sure your pump is dry, then reattach it to the discharge pipe.
- Plug the unit back in and test it once, to ensure proper functionality.
If you are uncomfortable cleaning your sump pump or you just prefer not to do it yourself, call us at Larry & Sons today. We’ll clean out your sump pump and make sure it is fully functional before we leave your house. Our Hagerstown plumbers are experts who’ve serviced hundreds of happy customers with issues like sump pump cleaning.
