A sump pump is a small pump that is installed in the lowest part of basement of your home. Its basic aim is to help in keeping the area under the building dry and to prevent it from flooding. We will now discuss the basics of a sump pump and how does it keeps the water out?

Some of the home owners are using this pump from long back. However, sump pumps are must in homes that are necessarily at a high risk of flooding. Now-a-days people are generally setting this sump while building a new home.

Normally, water flows into the sump pit through drains or by natural water migration through the soil. The sump pump then pumps the water out of the pit and away from the building so that the basement or crawlspace stays dry. It is very essential as a moist basement can lead to mold and mildew growth which causes all its health and breathing related hazards.

A sump pump is normally installed in a sump pit. Sump pit is a hole that has a height of 60 centimeters and width of 45 centimeters. The base of this sump pit is graveled. The sump pit is made at a very low level in your basement.

As the pit fills with water, the pump is turned on. It moves the liquid out of the pit through pipes that run away from your home to a spot where the water can be drained away.

Mostly, sump pumps are designed to operate automatically. There are two ways through which a sump pump starts. A pressure sensor and a float activator arm. A pressure sensor senses the pressure and after that makes the pump active. On the other hand a float activator has a buoyant ball that rises along with rise in water level and after a level it starts the arm.

You can also buy a manually operated pump, which works only when you want to turn it on, but these are not used commonly as they are not convenient to be used. Automatic pumps also have an option by which you can activate the pump if the float arm or sensor fails to work.

These sump pumps that you use at your home are powered by electricity. They just need a grounded outlet and do not need any specialized wiring. Since the pump is always in or near water therefore, you should use a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) on the outlet to prevent any accident.