Learn why ids-dmv sump pumps are your ultimate home safety solution!
A sump pump is a below grade pump used to discharge accumulated water from a building foundation and sub-slab area. In buildings built below the natural water table of the earth and adjacent grade, or on ground where there is swaling, poor natural drainage, or poor diversion the foundation area of the building can be constantly or periodically hydrated.
The picture below shows an example of a sump pump. The 1.5″ PVC pipe that runs out of the top of the sump pump is used to discharge collected waters from the sub-slab foundation area. If you look closely at the picture you can see there is between between 0.5 to 1.25″ of loose silt in the bottom of the crock basin. That silt has entered the sump pump overtime because this particular crock was not installed with a proper filter fabric or that filter fabric has deteriorated over the years and is now defuct.
A below grade pump is generally nestled and housed inside of a submersible or suppressed collection crock or sump. In many cases the sump is round and made from polyethylene. A common size for a small sump is approximately 16″ diameter.
A sump can be perforated or fed with collection pipework. Once water enters the sump water will build to the point that it lifts a float in the pump itself. Once the float is lifted, the pump will engage and water will discharge, generally to the exterior of the building. The building code in Washington, DC, for example, has complicated restriction related to discharge into public waste drain systems and such discharge is often best avoided.
Another photo of a sump pump follows. This system is fed with a perforated corrogsted foundation drain.
