My laundry sink drains in to a sump pump basin which gets pumped out by a sump pump. Been noticing the pump pumping about every half hour even when not using the washer. Replaced the check valve and it is still doing it. Nothing else goes to this basin except the washer. I am thinking now that the basin has a hole under the pump and is letting ground water in. Does this sound possible? Can I patch it when things dry out? Am I going to have to cut the concrete and replace the basin? Looking for opinions and ideas, Thanks
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Sump pump basin leaking
- Thread starter Bplantman
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A couple of questions are needed to be able to offer any good advice.
- How long have you lived in this house?
- Are you on a city sewer or a septic system?
- To where does the pump discharge?
- Is this sump and laundry in a basement?
- Did you install the laundry drain into the sump?
We had the house built nearly 30 years ago. We have a septic system. We have two sump pumps. one to pump the ground water from the footers and one for the laundry tub. The sump pump for the ground water pumps to a swale about 50 yds behind the house and the laundry tub pump goes to the septic system. Both pumps are in the basement. The house was built with the laundry sink drain going into its own pump. The pump for the footers is on the west wall and the laundry sink pump is on the south wall.
Sounds to me water is entering your tank.
Question is why ?
Its either ground water or you have a water leak.
And a hole in the basin or a leak around a penetration in the basin.
Pump the basin dry and suck the rest out with a shop vac. Monitor for water intrusion.
Question is why ?
Its either ground water or you have a water leak.
And a hole in the basin or a leak around a penetration in the basin.
Pump the basin dry and suck the rest out with a shop vac. Monitor for water intrusion.
Well, it looks like there's a hole in your sump alright. Pretty much all that it can be if you replaced the check valve. You could cap the line to the septic field and see if the water rises as an absolute check.
I would expect that the sump is a polyethylene tank, so patching it would be very iffy. Finding the actual hole or crack could be difficult, and most adhesives for polyethylene probably won't stand up to this service. I assume the sump pump sits on the bottom of the tank? If so, over 30 years any vibrations from the pump could have worn a hole or holes in the bottom of the sump tank.
If you can find a slightly smaller tank that will just fit inside the existing one, you may be able to slip it into the existing sump. Dry it out best you can, put a thin mortar layer in the bottom of the old tank and push the tank down into that mortar. If you need to cut the top of the new tank off a bit, no problem. Then fill the annular space with sand to within 1/4 - 1/2 inch of the top and caulk the remaining annular space with some self-leveling concrete floor joint sealant.
Another option would be to look at the "Laundry tray pump connection problems" post on this site a few days ago. The poster was using a "Star STL001 ventless laundry pump" that connects directly to the laundry tub drain. I'm not sure of your pump head requirements, but with that pump, you could just break out the old sump, backfill with dirt, sand and rock, and place a concrete patch over the existing sump site.
I would expect that the sump is a polyethylene tank, so patching it would be very iffy. Finding the actual hole or crack could be difficult, and most adhesives for polyethylene probably won't stand up to this service. I assume the sump pump sits on the bottom of the tank? If so, over 30 years any vibrations from the pump could have worn a hole or holes in the bottom of the sump tank.
If you can find a slightly smaller tank that will just fit inside the existing one, you may be able to slip it into the existing sump. Dry it out best you can, put a thin mortar layer in the bottom of the old tank and push the tank down into that mortar. If you need to cut the top of the new tank off a bit, no problem. Then fill the annular space with sand to within 1/4 - 1/2 inch of the top and caulk the remaining annular space with some self-leveling concrete floor joint sealant.
Another option would be to look at the "Laundry tray pump connection problems" post on this site a few days ago. The poster was using a "Star STL001 ventless laundry pump" that connects directly to the laundry tub drain. I'm not sure of your pump head requirements, but with that pump, you could just break out the old sump, backfill with dirt, sand and rock, and place a concrete patch over the existing sump site.
Thanks. We actually had the same "basin in a basin" idea but had not worked out the details. Next question would be if I could find one slightly smaller. Due to some health issues I would probably hire it done. Think that is a job for a typical plumber or maybe a water proofer etc? That ventless laundry pump sounds interesting.
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It has to be a hole in the basin. We are having a big thaw today and rain and the pump is running more. There is really no other way for water to get in there except the laundry sink and a hole in the basin.Sounds to me water is entering your tank.
Question is why ?
Its either ground water or you have a water leak.
And a hole in the basin or a leak around a penetration in the basin.
Pump the basin dry and suck the rest out with a shop vac. Monitor for water intrusion.
Where the washer drainpipe enters the basin may not be sealed good and it may be letting ground water enter around the pipe.
Find out what’s happening before making a plan to correct it.
Find out what’s happening before making a plan to correct it.
My assumption was that the laundry sink drain into that sump from above and not from an underground pipe. Is that correct?It has to be a hole in the basin. We are having a big thaw today and rain and the pump is running more. There is really no other way for water to get in there except the laundry sink and a hole in the basin.
And your rain and thawing kinda confirms that as long as the sink drain doesn't enter the sump from below the basement floor.
The washer drain pipe is not sealed anywhere. It hangs over the side of the laundry sink secured by zip ties. The sink just drains into the the basin. The drain line hanging under the sink may not have a good seal with the sink but there is no water in the sink. Washer is not running.
The water just drops in to the basin from a pipe under the sink.My assumption was that the laundry sink drain into that sump from above and not from an underground pipe. Is that correct?
And your rain and thawing kinda confirms that as long as the sink drain doesn't enter the sump from below the basement floor.
It’s not good that the ground water is being pumped into your septic system. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Even if the basin was repaired it still might push up from hydraulic pressure some place else or around the basin.
Even if the basin was repaired it still might push up from hydraulic pressure some place else or around the basin.
We also have a sump pump that pumps water from the footers and it is working just fine. I know it is not good to be pumping ground water into septic. That is the reason I started this thread. So what is the answer?It’s not good that the ground water is being pumped into your septic system. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Even if the basin was repaired it still might push up from hydraulic pressure some place else or around the basin.
We also have a sump pump that pumps water from the footers and it is working just fine. I know it is not good to be pumping ground water into septic. That is the reason I started this thread. So what is the answer?
You may need to add additional ground water drainage or find out why your existing ground water drainage is failing. This is something that must be done on the premises, internet won’t be much help.
Seems to me your existing ground water drain system would be lower than your laundry sump pit. Maybe not.
The answer maybe as simple as replacing the basin or it might be as complex as adding an additional sump for that area.
The pipe going into the basin for the main sump pump is quite a bit higher than the bottom of the basin for the laundry sink pump so I don`t think the drain system is lower. It got me looking around and I discovered the float switch on the main sump pump is defective. I assumed it was working ok and it`s not. Thank you for that.
The pipe going into the basin for the main sump pump is quite a bit higher than the bottom of the basin for the laundry sink pump so I don`t think the drain system is lower. It got me looking around and I discovered the float switch on the main sump pump is defective. I assumed it was working ok and it`s not. Thank you for that.
Yep, sounds like your ground water system isn’t functioning properly and the ground water level is higher than normal.
Hopefully replacing your float will get your system operating again and it’ll stop running into your washing machine pit
So, what you are saying is the drain line bringing water from the footers is higher than the bottom of the laundry sump, correct?The pipe going into the sump for the main sump pump is quite a bit higher than the bottom of the basin for the laundry sink pump so I don`t think the drain system is lower. It got me looking around and I discovered the float switch on the main sump pump is defective. I assumed it was working ok and it`s not. Thank you for that.
That leads to the question of what are the relative elevations of the bottom of the two sumps? Usually, the ground water sump also has holes in the sides and bottom of the sump to let ground water in to keep the water pressure from causing leaks into the basement through the walls and floor. So, like Twowaxhack said, one would assume that the "existing ground water drain system would be lower than your laundry sump pit." But if the bottom of the ground water sump is higher than the bottom of the laundry sump, then you may want to consider another option for the ground water.
You've apparently not had a problem until recently, but that doesn't mean that "repairing" the laundry sump to almost its prior setup will fix the problem. Again, as Twowaxhack said, "Even if the basin was repaired it still might push up from hydraulic pressure some place else or around the basin."
I know your ground water sump is located on your west wall and the laundry sink sump is on the south wall, but I don't know how far apart they are or if this is a finished basement. But as it is obvious that ground water is entering your laundry sump, you might consider piping the laundry sump pump to the same discharge line as the ground water sump pump. Then install a ventless laundry pump that connects directly to the sink outlet, as in the other post I mentioned, and route that discharge to the septic system. Actually, even with the cost of the ventless laundry pump around $250, this approach is very straight forward and probably would cost much less that any "repairs" would be for the existing setup. You would increase your capacity to pump ground water from under/around your house and assure that only sink discharge goes to your septic system. Seems like a win-win to me. For your laundry sink pump to run every 30 minutes, it means there is significant ground water entering your laundry sump. If the bottom of the laundry sump is significantly lower than the bottom of the existing ground water sump, you could adjust the pump float switches to come on later in the laundry sump to closer match the level the ground water sump is trying to maintain. No need to pump any more ground water out than is necessary.
For your consideration.
Thanks everyone for their ideas. 1:00am I was replacing the main sump pump with a spare I had. Different float switch wouldn`t work on the old pump (long story). Everything working and will be monitoring laundry sink basin.
