Drying out... I hope

Hello out there!  How's your week starting?

We had a crazy busy weekend of family and friends.  Despite all the meals in the car, missed naps and general craziness, it was so great to see everybody.  It's definitely made today feel like a Monday though and I can't wait to kick up my feet tonight and relax.  

Also, I should mention, we're soaked.  All that snow has translated into so. much. water. everywhere.  For the couple weeks, I've needed rain boots to get my mail, that's how wet our grass is.  And driving up our gravel driveway in a white SUV has left it speckled with mud from hubcaps to roof, with our toddler asking everyday when we're going to the car wash.  (May, the answer is May.  Maybe June.)

And remember a couple weeks back how I posted about the puddle in the basement?  Yeah, it got worse.  Way worse and quick.  I was still wary about the sump pump and kept checking it, but it seemed fine, no more puddles.  Then I saw a giant puddle one night that wasn't only from behind "the door" but from the sump pit that we've never had a pump in, let alone ever seen water in.  The pump behind the door was still working sporadically, but the pump that goes in the other pit wouldn't turn on.  Since it was late, we cleaned up as best we could and tried to convince ourselves it wasn't that bad.

This is the pit that overflowed into the basement.  One that we never saw water in until it was all water.

It was.

The next morning there was even more water.  And the third pit, another one that's always dry, was filling up.  I made sure it was working, which it was, but the hose was spraying all over.  So in the span of 10 minutes, we went from headed off to a normal day to let's break out the scuba gear and fix these sump pumps.

$500 and 5 hours later, things were finally dried out.  Jon installed a new one behind the door, put a new backup one in the middle pit, and re-piped the other one.  I kept checking it all day and night to make sure things we're working and everything seems to be running smoothly again!  

Tip:  If you have a drainage line from a water softener discharging into your sump pit, spend a little more money and buy a stainless steel sump pump.  Stainless steel won't corrode from all the salt so it will last longer.  

The craziest part is the one pit that's always been dry. (Yeah, we totally forgot that we saw a pump in there during one of the first house tours we took.)  I never noticed the weep holes in the pit before and now when the pump empties the pit the water rushes in refilling the hole!  I mean, I know theoretically that's how it's supposed to work but man that's a lot of water!  

Fingers crossed things dry out before those April showers begin!