Anybody else experience trouble? We've been here 13 years, and last night was the first time we've been hit. The sump pump could not keep up with the deluge from the runoff up the hill from us on Spring, and simply decided to stop working for awhile, taking a breather. We didn't lose power - it just couldn't keep up.

I was home alone, of course, and ankle-deep in water in our family room (we have a split level, so it's partially below ground). We had an extra pump outside that I brought downstairs, throwing the hose out the window and holding the pump in the water by hand, since the hose kept coming off. I'm not sure it helped. The sump pump kicked back in a couple of times but it wasn't enough. (Of course, when the crisis was over it decided to work just fine.)

But all the carpet's ruined, we've spent all day tearing it up and hauling it out to save some money so the insurance claim will cover more of the stuff we lost (Bye bye, Nintendo Wii; I told my sons to put you up off the floor, but they didn't listen. Fortunately, I saved the XBox in the other room before the water reached it.). On top of all this, our other living space - the living room/dining room area - we are in the midst of painting, so now there is no place in the entire house where we can sit, or eat, or even watch TV, except our bedrooms. Family room is out of commission until the Servpro people dry it and we get new carpet, and while we had planned to finish painting the living room this weekend, I'm not sure now. (And just imagine the aromatic combination of new paint and wet carpet - lovely.)

Ugh. We're getting a 2nd sump pump on a battery. Even though this wasn't a power outage problem, we learned that you can never have enough sump pumps.

Sorry Scribbler, that sounds downright yucky!

We got a little water in our garage, but that was it. Nothing to worry about.

My unsolicited advice to scribbler: When you get the 2nd sump pump make sure it discharges through a separate pipe and not through the same pipe as the primary pump.

Now, the real reason I posted a response on this thread....scribbler, are you female? If so, I am in awe. Can't imagine my wife having the wherewithal to even think of getting an extra pump to help remove the water let alone know how to use it. Don't get me wrong, she is amazing in many ways, sump pumps is just not one of them. If I were home in time last night we would never had the water in the garage that we got, as I know it was caused by a clogged grate in the back of our house. Once I got home and cleared the grate, the water went down right away. These are just things that I pay attention to and she does not. Of course, when I'm dead and gone we will be the only house on the block with a built-in swimming pool in the basement.

Well, while I am as AWESOME as you think, Fish - and yes, a female - I cannot claim sole credit for the pump idea. As soon as I looked in the game room and saw the ankle-deep water flooding toward me through open French Doors, I let out a significant, completely-feminine screech and ran toward the phone to call Proud Hubby. (Although may I say, proudly, first I stopped to throw every electronic device, including the XBox 360, that was in the path of the cascading water up on top of something?)

Anyway, Proud Hubby reminded me of the pump outside. However, I'm not saying I wouldn't have gotten there on my own, and I did figure out how to use it and keep using it all night long, until he could grab a schooner and sail his way back home from the city to relieve me - although by then, the crisis was over.

(And when the evening started and a little trickle of water came in through a back door, I checked to make sure the grate in the stairwell was unclogged all by my own little self. As I said before, I am AWESOME.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: scribbler,

Sorry to hear that Scribbler as I am still dealing with the aftermath of the sewer backup in September.

I did keep an eye on my Basement Watchdog. My main pump came really close to running continuously, but it kept up and my backup pump never had to kick in.

I think we got 2.5 inches of rain...more importantly, at one point it hit 1 inch an hour...

Question from Proud Hubby - can he install a backup pump such as the Basement Watchdog himself? Or should he get a professional?

One thing to consider is the line going out of your house we had a plumber come by last year and he recommended that we increase the diameter of our line leaving the house. It was a little pricey so we didn't do it. But if both pumps use the same line you still could have a problem.

If you are somewhat handy, then you can do it yourself. I picked up everything I needed at the Ace hardware on roosevelt. I was done in an hour or so.