The basement is flooded. Looks like the sump pump failed and we’ve got an inch or two of water everywhere. Sigh.
UPDATE: I managed to get a hold of a plumber who can come out today. I also got the sump pump running a bit. It seems that the switch went bad, but now that it’s been flooded it’s a dieing beast. While it’s getting some water out, it’s not doing very well and it’s making horrible noises. I just hope it’s pumping faster than water is coming in.
UPDATE2: I got a plumber to come in and fix things. The pump actually drains the water fairly rapidly. In the roughly forty minutes between my call and the plumber’s arrival, some parts of the floor became dry. Unfortunately, I had to stop sweeping up the water into the pump room so that he could work on the pump.
It turns out that the main pump failed but the backup pump didn’t work because the switch was messed up. The backup pump requires a pit of at least 18” diameter and 24” depth, although a 24” diameter is strongly recommended. Our pit is 15½” in diameter. Yay.
I had the plumber take out the original pump and backup and put in a new one. We don’t have a backup pump now, but we have a working main pump and clearly the backup pump didn’t help out when it was needed anyway. I’m looking at some other backup pumps which are a bit pricier but sit outside the pit and so would actually fit in there and work.
I’m taking a bit of a break to let the water accumulate for another round of water sweeping. After that, I think I’ll rig up a fan to blow the moist air out. It’s cold so our internal air is dry, which should help things clear up down there if I can get better circulation.