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The basement sump pump took me 4 days to fix, it was a $9 part
Last month my basement started smelling like wet dirt and the floor was damp near the wall. I checked the sump pit and the pump was running but barely moving water. First day I cleaned the intake screen, no change. Second day I replaced the check valve, still weak flow. Third day I pulled the whole pump and found the float switch was sticking on a piece of gravel. That was it. A $9 part and 20 minutes of work after 3 wasted days of guessing. The pump was fine the whole time, just the switch. Has anyone else spent way too long on a simple fix because you assumed the big part was broken instead of the tiny one?
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kelly.charlie1mo ago
Wait, did you actually pull the whole pump out before checking the float? Man, I used to be the exact opposite. I'd always blame the cheap little parts first and totally ignore the main motor. Like last year my washing machine kept stopping mid cycle and I replaced the lid switch, then the belt, then the drain pump, all little parts. Turned out the actual spin motor was fried. So you're saying you skipped the obvious stuff and went straight for the big thing? That's wild to me because my brain always goes "it must be the expensive complicated piece" when it's usually the dumb $10 something that breaks. Your story honestly made me flip my whole way of thinking about this stuff. Next time I'm checking the tiny stupid parts first no matter how good the big part looks.
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kelly3851mo ago
Wait, you had a working pump and still thought the float was the issue before ever checking the motor?
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