Before rainy season
Sump pump test
If your house has a basement or a crawlspace below grade, there's a sump pump in the lowest corner whose entire job is to kick on when groundwater rises and pump it out before it floods.
Pumps fail sitting unused for 8 dry months. A 60-second test in September tells you whether you'll be calm or panicked the first heavy rain.
What you’ll need
- A 5-gallon bucket of water
- A flashlight
- Your eyes and ears — you mostly just need to listen and watch
The basics
- Lift the lid on the sump basin in the basement or crawlspace. Look for sitting water or visible rust on the pump.
- Slowly pour a 5-gallon bucket of water into the basin until the float rises.
- Listen — the pump should kick on within a few seconds. Watch the water level drop until the float clicks off.
- If the pump hums but doesn’t move water, the impeller is jammed or the check valve is stuck. If it’s silent, it’s dead.
Watch out for
- Rust or sludge in the basin — the pump’s intake is clogging, schedule a clean-out.
- Discharge water pooling right outside the foundation — the discharge line is too short; that water comes right back in.
- Pump cycling on and off rapidly with no rain — basin or check-valve issue, get a plumber in BEFORE the rain.
Spot something off? Let Odosan diagnose it.
Photo of the sump basin from above, ideally with the lid off, showing the pump and any visible water or rust.