On Apr 2, 1:27 pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> What a week. Last week the drain line from my sump pump was backing up.
> I did a half assed job to get it cleaned out last week but the ground
> was still covered in snow and the ground frozen. I was able to dig a
> whole and remove a section to let it drain into the hole and across the
> line, but had to wait until Monday to get it properly cleared.
>
> Yesterday the washing machine was not filling. I occasionally get a
> buildup of sand in the inline mesh filtre thanks to sandy well water.
> It is a bitch of a job to get that line on and off, but I managed. The
> water seemed to be running much faster than it has for months.
> Meanwhile, my wide advised me that the sump pump line was leaking.
> Simple fix... just tighten up the connection.
>
> This morning I was out raking up branches and my wife came running out
> to tell me that washing machine had overflowed. Not only did it flood
> the laundry room, but it was dripping down into the basement and on top
> of the furnace.
>
> So off I go to the basement to clean up the mess down there. All I had
> to do was squeeggee the water over to the steps and into the lower paart
> of the cellar where the sump pump is. That was when I discovered that
> when I tightened the union connection I had rotated the pump just enough
> that the float switch jammed on the side of the sump hole, preventing it
> from rising with the water in the sump. So I had 6 inches of water down
> there. Luckily the drain line had been cleaned out and 15 minutes later
> the water was gone. Now the fan is running to help dry it up down there.
>
> So as soon as that was done I headed into town to my friend's furniture
> and appliance store to get a new washer. The old one is 15 years old and
> my wife has been complaining about it for the last year. I bought new
> energy efficient front loaded. It is supposed to use less energy, less
> water and less detergent.
>
> It's early afternoon. I wonder what else can go wrong today.

I have days like that. Not often, I'm glad to say.

Re your sump pump: I just had one put in, not ever needing it until
last summer's single 6" rain. Did you know you can get sump pump
failure insurance which also includes sewer line back up damage) for
very little money? As soon as my new carpeting goes down, that
additional insurance will kick in - I think it adds about $10/month to
my policy. The limit of coverage is $10,000, with $1000 deductible -
small price to pay for replacing the carpeting if I need to in the
future because of water damage.

N.