A sump pump is supposed to run when the pit fills, then stop. If yours keeps running after the water is gone, or kicks on every few seconds, it is not doing its job so much as arguing with it. In Lowell, where the flats between the Lowell Riverfront Trail and the hill sit close to the Snohomish River, a pump that never shuts off in January might just be dealing with saturated ground. Up in Cascade View, above I-5 and Hwy 526, the same behaviour in a dry week usually means a small, cheap part is about to cost somebody a motor. Sorting out which one you have is the point of this post, and it is also the first question a plumbing company serving Lowell will ask you on the phone. Everett 98203 homes see plenty of both.
Why sump pumps run constantly in Lowell and Cascade View homes
Ground near the river holds water. The soil around Rotary Park on Lowell Snohomish River Rd soaks up winter rain and lets go of it slowly, so a sump pit in a Lowell basement or crawl space keeps refilling long after the sky clears. A pump that runs hard during a downpour and tapers off over the next day or two is doing exactly what it was installed to do.
Running wrong looks different. The pump keeps going while the pit sits low, fires over and over in a tight loop with barely any water to move, or runs non-stop through a week of dry weather. Four things cause most of that.
- A stuck float switch. The float tells the pump when to start and stop. On a tether it drifts against the wall of a tight pit, on a rod it catches on the side, and silt or stray gravel makes both worse. Most sump pumps live in silty water.
- A failed check valve. The valve sits in the discharge line just above the pump and stops water draining back into the pit. When it fails, every cycle sends the same water up and lets most of it fall right back.
- Nothing moving. A clogged intake screen, an air-locked pump, or a discharge line that is frozen, sagging, clogged or buried at the outlet gives the water nowhere to go. Cold snaps freeze a line that ends at grade.
- The wrong inflow. A leaking supply line, a sewer leak, or a discharge outlet that dumps against the foundation so the same water soaks straight back into the pit.
Older Cascade View crawl spaces often have undersized pits and silted footing drains, and that cycles a pump constantly in wet weather. That is a drainage problem rather than an equipment problem. Sump pump repair in Everett fixes the pump; a French drain that moves water before it reaches the pit fixes the yard.
What to check first, before you call anyone
- Make sure the floor around the pit is dry before you lift the lid, and keep the cord out of standing water. Then watch one full cycle. If the level drops cleanly to the bottom, the pump shuts off, and the pit refills slowly, that is normal duty. If the level barely drops, or drops and jumps right back up, keep going.
- Unplug the pump, free the float and clear the silt around it. Plug it back in and run the bucket test: pour in enough water to raise the float. The pump should start, pull the level down and shut off.
- Listen after it stops. A good check valve thumps shut. If water runs back down the pipe, the valve is not holding, or there is no valve.
- Walk outside while the pump runs and look at the end of the discharge line. If no water comes out, clear the opening and check the line for sags. If the pump hums with nothing moving, an air lock is possible.
- Check the pit after several dry days. A slow, seasonal refill is groundwater. A pit that fills at the same pace regardless of weather, or fills with warm water, points to a plumbing leak. Water that smells like sewage is a drain or sewer failure.
- Run a meter test. Shut off every fixture and appliance, write down the meter reading, wait an hour, read it again. If it moved, water is going somewhere it should not.
If the pit is refilling and you cannot tell why, call Danika at (425) 374-1557 or send us a photo of the pit, the discharge line and the outlet outside. Shoot the pit from an angle that shows the float.
How long can a pump run before it burns out
There is no safe number to quote, and we will not make one up. A sump pump that runs constantly in dry weather, or short-cycles every few seconds, will burn its motor out years ahead of schedule. If you cannot solve it quickly, unplugging the pump beats cooking the motor, but understand you have turned off your protection. If rain is coming, you want a plan: a battery backup pump, or a plumber on the way. That matters most in a finished Lowell basement, or in a Cascade View crawl space where a flood takes out ductwork and insulation.
When it is past DIY
The float, the check valve and a blocked outlet are homeowner fixes. These are not: the float keeps sticking after you have freed it, which means the switch is worn or the pit is too tight for that style of float; the pump air-locks repeatedly, which usually means the discharge line is missing a weep hole; the pit fills at the same rate in dry weather and the meter test moved; the water smells like sewage; or a new pump is already cycling constantly, which points to an old silted pit or a missing check valve. Any of those is a service call, not a weekend project, and a plumbing company that works Cascade View crawl spaces will have the right pump, valve and pit liner on the truck.
The discharge matters too. If the outlet dumps near the foundation, the same water soaks in, travels back to the pit and gets pumped out again, so the pump works harder and the basement never dries out. Extending the outlet so the water lands where the ground slopes away is one of the cheapest improvements available, and the discharge should never go into the sanitary sewer. Danika Plumbing & Electric has run these calls across Everett since 2009, and our shop at Paine Field is a short run down Hwy 526 from either side of the zone.
Sump pump keeps running FAQ
Why does my sump pump keep running when it has not rained in days?
Wet ground near the river holds water for a long time, so a Lowell pit can keep filling days after the last shower. The other answers are a plumbing leak or a float that never lets go. Run a meter test during a dry stretch. If the numbers moved, call a plumber before you blame the weather.
Why does water run back down the pipe after the pump shuts off?
The check valve is not holding. A healthy valve thumps shut and the water stays up in the line. A tired one lets it fall back into the pit, so the pump turns on again to push the same water out. A missing valve does the same thing. Replacing it is a quick job.
Should a brand-new sump pump in Cascade View be running this much?
Not without a reason. A new pump can cycle more than it should if it sits in an old, silted-up pit, was installed without a working check valve, or is undersized for the inflow. Constant cycling right after installation is worth a call back to whoever set it, and a look at the footing drains feeding the pit.
Danika Plumbing & Electric, 11015 Airport Rd, Everett, WA 98204. We are the plumbing company Everett 98203 homeowners call for sump pumps in Lowell and Cascade View, and we cover Casino Road, Delta and Silver Lake too, with emergency service around the clock. Call (425) 374-1557 or schedule sump pump service online before the next wet week.
