gah, wet basement AGAIN

[renogaw]

1) our basement flooded last july due to the wash machine overfilling while we weren't home.
2) our basement got wet due to not plugging the cleanout on the new wash machine in october (i think)
3) our basement got flooded because my sump pump didn't turn on in january
wifey says, we're moving if this happens again.
4) our basement floods cause the check valve on the new sump pump came off the pipe on monday...
wifey says, that's it we're moving. calms down, thinks about remodeling, then says ok we're moving if it happens again.
5) while the fans and dehumidifiers are running, the circuit trips that has the sump pump on it, and i have a flooded basement again...
sooooo.... do i:
1) wake her and ruin her night
2) ruin her morning
3) turn the fans back on since she won't go down and check the basment in the morning, and since the water remediation company is coming first thing in the morning, she'll really never know...
originally they were going to dry the pad under the carpet, but now they are going to have to rip it out since it's been wet so long...i can just tell her they told me they had to do this when they came to test out the drying...but lying and the compounding of lying may come back to bite me in the arse...
so....it seems i'm going to have to ruin my wife's life and start looking for somewhere to move to...
i hate water...

 

[t316]

Option 4....Solve the damn problem and your basement will flood no more...

 

[renogaw]

oh trust me, if there were anything way to fix human error, i wouldn't be having this issue...the sump pump keeps up with the water just fine, but we've had about 5" of rain in the past two days so the ground is saturated. had i not screwed with it sunday night, the check valve wouldn't have slipped off...

 

[reefraff]

Home depot sells some vinyl flooring that looks like wood. I forget the name of the stuff but it even lays like wood. I would look at throwing the stuff in instead of carpet. The water wont mess with this stuff. At least if you have issues in the future cleanup is a lot easier.

 

[renogaw]

yes, we've discussed not having carpet down there, but it's also our daughter's play area...and the carpet is brand new last august...

 

[aquaknight]

Option 2, but explain how it's human error, and running dehumidifiers that trip the sump pump circuit, how that would flood even a brand new house....
Though admittedly my knowledge on the subject is zero, because well, we ain't got no basements here. Might actually might be Option 5 (now, I think), move somewhere without basements.

 

[t316]

My bad, I didn't mean to imply that "human" error is causing this. I meant, re-construct all of the mechanical problematic issues so that this cannot happen anymore. I don't know your exact setup, but if manual drains cannot be installed (to run the excess water out of a sidewall), then look into a below ground holding tank, with a floor drain near the problem areas. I have a buried tank below my basement floor, with a sump pump hooked up to it to pump the liquids up to the septic system. But, even if the sump pump failed, the tank has enough capacity to hold large quantities of water (if it malfunctioned), until you can catch it and fix the pump or breaker that malfunctioned.

 

[ironeagle2006]

Better option a combo dedicated line for the pump also get a Commercial gade one think Sewage pump. Also put in a holding tank to avoid this issue and then put down that Vinyl flooring yes it is your daughter play area however what do you think PLAY MATS ARE FOR. Also on any plumbing have secondondary SHUT OFF. I DO called learned the hard way my son at 3 cracked the toilet tank and flooded my house. That was a fun clean up.

 

[darthtang aw]

Have an electrician check your wiring. Odds are your breaker is a 15 amp. Sometimes homes are ready wired with 20 amp wire so you could increase the breaker size solving that issue. as long as the electrician oks this.,
Also, I used to have two sump pumps in my basement when I lived in Minnesota many many many many years ago. The second one was actually up a little higher instead of resting right on the sump, so they would not interfere with each other. They was on their own dedicated circuits separate from the other. This way if one fails the other is there to take over. Plus you never knew when a sump woyuld go out suddennly.....and usually when you are not around.