Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Sump Pump Blues

Last evening Linda noticed a hum that was too loud and didn't quit. We traced it to the basement where the sump pump was running but not pumping anything useful. I unplugged it. Took it out and looked for a clogged filter. But the water was still not leaving the hole. It had rained for the past two days, but yesterday it snowed and stayed colder. Maybe the basement wouldn't flood before we got help.

Today I called the plumber. The receptionist said that, well, they couldn't get over until tomorrow, maybe not until Monday. Have you tried whacking it with a broomstick?

Well, I had unplugged it and reset it, but no, I haven't tried the broom trick.

So, this afternoon, after I got some fuel wood and a backup pump, I took the current pump out and knocked it on the cellar floor and plugged it back in. Whoopee, it pumps.

No more flood worries. Now to worry about getting the whole house deferred maintenance dealt with. I ran into Eric, Kim D's boyfriend, at Home Depot. That reminded me that we had talked about him doing some of the house repairs.

This is the kind of journal reporting I enjoyed doing when I wrote notes to Ted Rodd to send with the monthly Honda payments. Now that he is gone, I miss this, too.

2 comments:

Jessamyn said...

Well I love good regular reporting especially about stuff that gets fixed with a good broomstick whackin'!

David said...

Update: The hose came loose and poured water all over the floor until I re-tightened the hose clamp. Much drier now.