You have it in the basement to keep your area dry. It’s no good when it floods your yard. But with some pump adjustments and yard engineering, you can totally fix this problem.
There could be several reasons why is your or your neighbor’s sump pump draining into yard like ruptured pipes, natural causes, and so on.
To fix the mess, you need to find out the reasons and take measures fast. In this article, you will learn exactly from this in-depth article.
Causes of Sump Pump To Drain Into Yard With Solutions
Finding the reasons will help you out taking the right corrective measures fast. That’s why it’s critical to understand why the sump pump is malfunctioning.
Here is a list of those reasons:
- Higher Water Table
Let’s talk about the natural reason first. It happens a lot during the wet season where the water table may get unusually high. Nearby streams and rivers may contribute to this problem too.
This is the time when the sump pump may have to deal with so much water beyond its capacity. So, the ultimate consequence is flooding.
If this is the case, you have multiple options for your yard drainage solutions. First of all, if there is no backyard sump pump, it’s maybe a good time to have one installed.
An alternative to a backyard sump pump can be installing a French drain if this flooding happens more often and you have a decent budget for this.
If you don’t have the budget for a French drain, how about a rain garden? Having a rain garden will cost you less but will get the job done.
You can also carry the water away from the yard having a downspout as well. This is helpful during the wet season.
Also, you can wait for the dry season to solve the problem naturally if nothing of the above solutions works for you.
- Too Fast Pump Rate
If it starts pumping water too fast, it may flood the yard because it does not get enough time to drain the excess water. This happens when your sump pump gets off the track for some reason.
To solve this problem, you need the help of a professional to assess how fast or how often your sump pump is running. Only a professional should fix such a troublesome sump pump.
- Ruptured Pipe
Apart from being too old, pipe bursts can happen due to many reasons and lead to excess water in the basement and such yard flooding.
Many people use polybutylene pipes or pex pipes instead of copper pipes. But these pipes are easily breakable and may burst anytime. Only copper pipes last for a long time.
To figure out whether you have a ruptured or leaking pipe issue, check your water bill. Any sudden increase in water bill should give you a hint.
If you have a rupturing pipe issue, you are in trouble and only a home inspector can be your savior. Instead of tearing up the whole yard to locate the exact position where the pipe is broken using a thermal imaging camera.
- The Drainage of Your Yard Is Poor.
If your yard has compacted soil, it may be another reason why it is flooding from the sump pump. You see, compacted soil makes it hard for the drainage of a sump pump.
Also, the soil compaction of the sump pump drainage area and the slope of the drain can change over a period of time. With heavy foot traffic, soils can get compacted really fast.
That is another reason your yard is now flooded! If your yard does not drain the water properly, your sump pump is just recycling the water!
Among many things, make sure the drainage is properly slopped. And to facilitate the water flow, you should add sand and other materials to your yard drainage area.
Consequence of Too Much Water In Yard
Flooding your yard is not the only problem you will face when your sum pump is not working properly. It can cause other damages too.
To understand why you should immediately take action, look at the following damages that may happen to you:
- Sinkhole in Yard
There will be sinkholes in your yard due to the excess water. Even if you notice that a sinkhole is developing, call a professional as they can be dangerous for kids and pets.
- Mold Problem
A malfunctioning sump pump will result in backed-up water in the basement. That will lead to mold growth that you want to avoid at any cost.
So, when you have a flooded yard because of the sump pump, inspect your basement for mold as well. Fix the sump pump and if you see any mold, remove them wearing your protective wearing.
- Mosquitoes Problem
Mosquitoes love standing water and dangerous mosquitoes love fresh standing water in the yard!
There are plenty of ways to take care of your mosquitos’ problem but the first thing you need to do is remove those standing water first.
Keeping Your Yard Nice And Dry
Nobody notices the failing sump pump until it’s too late. It’s easy to forget about it when your sump pump is working well.
So, I would recommend observing the signs of a failing sump pump every now and then to avoid this misfortunate event in the future.
When the sump pump begins to wear out, it shows several symptoms. You can avoid a complete failure of it and avoid the flooding of your basement and yard noticing these symptoms.
Apart from that, inspect the drainage of your yard after heavy rainfall. If the drainage seems partially blocked or not working the way it should, ensure its necessary maintenance.
There are some areas where the soil does not drain water well naturally. Digging dry wells can be a good solution in that situation.
So, dig a couple of dry wells to hold such excess water to prevent flooding the entire yard.
When To Call A Professional?
As you can see, the damages can be devastating, you need to act first. I have mentioned some reasons why it may be flooding your yard.
But if you still don’t know the exact reasons, it’s time to call a PRO. A professional will figure out the problem fast and solve it quickly to contain the damages.
If you are not good at that stuff, it’s better to leave it to a professional. Make sure the professional inspect your dry well and French drain too.
There may be something wrong with your French drain and it’s not doing a good job draining the excess water. The professional can fix it for you too!
But before you call a professional, watch this video to gather more knowledge on your sump pump.
Maintenance Of The Sump Pump
When it comes to keeping a piece of machinery in better condition and avoiding draining the yard accidentally, maintenance is always the key.
With your sump pump, you have to ensure that you are going through proper maintenance. While you can’t avoid some of the evident problems, you can still prevent a lot of them from happening.
You don’t need to go through a lot of maintenance on your sump pump. Usually, doing regular maintenance quarterly does that job. At least you should do maintenance once a year.
However, many experts will tell you to go through these maintenance tips every two months.
It doesn’t matter what period you choose, as long as it is within a year you should be fine. For regular maintenance, you don’t have to do too much either. It’s pretty simple.
You have to clean your sump pump with the proper formulation. Here, running down a vinegar solution through your sump pump can help you clean it pretty quickly.
This will get rid of any tiny particles or any debris from the pump.
Now, you can do this yourself, or you can opt for professional help. If you notice any severe problem with your sump pump, calling for professional help is a much better option.
Along with that, make sure to clean all the vents and holes to keep the sump pump in top condition. Also, you have to be aware of the float switch of the sump pump.
Ensure that nothing is restricting the float switch.
And that’s pretty much it with the maintenance. As you can see, there is nothing much to do here. So, even if it’s every two months, it’s not that much of a hassle to maintain your sump pump.
Since it helps in avoiding many problems with the pump, it’s undoubtedly worthwhile as well.
Mistakes You Should Avoid With Your Sump Pump
You can make several mistakes with your sump pump, which, when avoided, can help you greatly avoiding such accidental draining in the future.
Here are some of the common mistakes to avoid while using your sump pump-
- Don’t let any debris get in your sump pump. This is one of the most crucial problems you can face with a sump pump that can easily be avoided. All you have to do is, keep your sump pump in a place with no open slit or any small gravel around.
- Always make sure that the float has sufficient room to work with. If there are obstructions around the float switch, the sump pump will malfunction very quickly.
- You should always check your sump pump system even if you don’t see any issues with it. It would help if you did it at least once a year. All you have to do is pour a lot of water through the pump and see if it’s working correctly or not.
- Checkup with the check valve of the pump. To check up, you simply have to look at the arrow in the check value. If it’s pointing away from the sump pump, then everything is going well, but if not, there is some problem with it. It would help if you got that checked by a professional as soon as you could.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can but make sure the discharged water runoff efficiently without leaving any standing water in the yard.
When you have poor yard drainage, you will have flooded drainage. You need to improve the drainage system (maybe a French drain?) to stop this from happening.
Including the yard, you can drain it anywhere that is convenient for you. However, make sure the discharge point is at least 10 feet away from the foundation.
It’s okay to have a little water in your sump pump pit. However, having too much water in there indicates a problem. Usually, that’s when your sump pump may stop functioning.
If no digging is involved, it will cost you around $1200 to $1500 including the cost of a new sump pump.
Closing Remarks
Being vigilant and ensuring regular maintenance of your yard’s drainage and the sump pump itself is the key to stop your sump pump draining into yard and creating a mess.
It happens when you forget about it completely!
But you are not alone and plenty of people face the same problem. But you now know why it happens and what you should do. So, get into action!
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