bad, badder, but could be much worse

[rmd]

bad: looks like the sump pump in my basement failed or wedged. when i toggle it, the motor hums but does not pump.

badder: at some point with the rain a while back, the water got high enough to damage a bunch of claudia's lowest shelf of boxes, many of which were full of books.

could be much worse: we figured the pump failure out tonight, and not AFTER earl dumped a bunch of rain on us.

Comments

[also-huey.livejournal.com]

Last time that happened here, the impeller was full of dryer lint. Unhooked it, took it out in the backyard and pressure-washed it, pulled all the lint out, and it's been working fine since.

All the same, I have a backup pump now as well.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

yeah, i'm a big believer in having a spare for something like a sump pump -- if you need a replacement, chances are everyone else does too, and so the hardware store is sold out that day.

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

shit! anything we can do to help?
returning your wetvac is at the top of the list i'm sure
*hugs*

[rmd.livejournal.com]

nope. the basement is dry (albiet damp). i just need to fix the pump and get my dehumidifier back from frotz.

I'm just really glad i found this out tonight and not friday or saturday, when presumably things would be flooded.

[cz_unit]

Man I continue to be happy that I live on the side of a hill. If the motor is humming but not turning it's got to be stalled, can you pull the thing out and check the impeller?

C

[rmd.livejournal.com]

yeah, i'll check it out at my leisure. i picked up a new pump this evening that's got a 3/4 hp motor instead of the 1/3 of the old one. IN YOUR FACE, WATER TABLE.

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

.75hp-W00t!

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

I read this initially as "bad bladder" and indeed found that it certainly could have been worse! :)

It sounds like people would be wise in the Boston area to only put things in sealable plastic on the lower portions of the basement storage areas...

Either that or make amusing stilt structures!