Ran my sump pump nonstop after last rain and the basement still got damp

I was standing in my utility room in Edmonton last Thursday watching water seep up through the floor crack even though the pump was cycling every 90 seconds. Turns out the discharge line had a slow freeze block from the cold snap, so the water was just recirculating back through the gravel. Anyone else had a hidden winter freeze issue with their sump setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

roberts.troy19d ago

Dude, that "recirculating back through the gravel" thing is exactly what happened to me last January. I was out there with a flashlight at 11pm, pump running fine, but water still pooling. The discharge line had this little ice plug right where it goes through the foundation wall, so the water was just dumping out right next to the house and soaking back down. I ended up having to run a heat tape along that whole section just to keep it clear. It's wild how a tiny bit of ice can mess up the whole system.

ward.mason19d ago

Buddy of mine had the same setup, spent a whole weekend digging up his yard to reroute that pipe.