It is two in the morning and you have typed sump pump not working into your phone, standing in the kitchen in your socks, because you can hear water somewhere under the house. Breathe. Most of the time the answer is simple, and the simple answer can be checked tonight without anybody climbing into a pit they should not be climbing into.
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Dad will tell you the pump is fine. He may even be right. But a sump pump is the one appliance in the house that only matters on the night it is needed, so the time to learn whether it works is a dry afternoon, with the coffee made and the basement light on.
Before you touch anything
Find the pit first. It is usually a round or square hole in the basement floor, often in a corner, with a lid or a loose cover over it. The pump sits inside, with a cord running to an outlet on the wall and a pipe running up and out through the floor or the wall.
Before your hands go near the water, cut the power. Unplug the pump from the outlet, or switch off the breaker that feeds it. If there is standing water in the pit and the outlet is wet, or the cord is cracked, stop there and call an electrician. Do not reach in to fix it yourself.
The test, start to finish
Take these steps in order, and write down what you see as you go.
1. Look in the pit. Remove leaves, gravel, or sludge by hand if the cover allows it, and check that the cover sits flat so nothing falls in.
2. Lift the float by hand. It is the arm or round ball that rises with the water. It should move freely and not catch on the pit wall or the pipe. If it sticks, free it and note what was catching it.
3. Plug the pump back in, or turn the breaker on, and lift the float slowly with your finger. The pump should start when the float rises and stop when it falls back down. If it does nothing, the outlet, the breaker, or the switch is the next thing to check, and that is a call to an electrician if the outlet itself looks wrong.
4. Pour a bucket of water slowly into the pit, and watch the water rise until the float lifts. The pump should start, drain the pit, and shut off. Listen for a steady hum with the water moving, and for it to quit once the pit is empty. A hum without water moving is a sign to stop the pump before it runs dry for long.
5. Go outside and find the discharge pipe, where the water comes out. Water should flow out and away from the foundation during the test. If nothing comes out, or the outlet is blocked, frozen, or cracked, note it.
6. If there is a battery backup, check that its charger light is on and that the battery is not swollen or leaking. If it has a test button or an alarm, press it once and listen.
7. Write the results on an index card and tape it inside the basement door or near the breaker box, where the next person can read it.
When to call a plumber or an electrician
Call someone if the pump does not start when the float lifts, if it hums but moves no water, if it runs all the time, if the breaker trips when it starts, if the outlet or cord looks burned or wet, or if the discharge line is blocked or cracked. Those are not failures of nerve. They are the reasons the trade exists.
When you call, ask the same things every time. Ask what they found, which part failed, and whether the check valve on the discharge line and the pit cover were looked at. Ask for a written estimate that names the parts and the labor before anybody opens the pit. Ask whether the old pump is coming out and whether they will test the new one in front of you. Dad can sit on the stairs and supervise, which he will enjoy.
Ask the doctor about nothing here. This one is a plumber's job, and a good one will not mind you asking for the paper.
Good-week card: The pump started the first time I lifted the float, and the water went where it was supposed to go.