R.I.P. Old Sump Pump!

I swear machines can think. Seriously, they know things! Like our old sump pump...until it "died" today.

Over the years, we've had our share of flooding in our basement. Sometimes it was due to clogged drain tile, or the power went out and the sump pump couldn't work. Recently though, things have been great. Drain tile working, no power failures -- but then we purchased a gas-powered generator. We were set!

Not really -- the sump pump must have known, and today, we had to say goodbye and purchase a new one. Actually, we have been lucky. Many folks we know say their pump lasted 10 years at best. In fact, experts say you should replace them every 5-7 years. Ours was installed in 1996! Yes, we got 17 years of faithful service.

So the point of my post: If it's been a while since you've replaced yours, you may want to have it checked. Especially as wetter weather is coming, a little investment now can save you a whole lot of problems later.