Damn, down here in Atlanta for the week, next door neighbor calls me this morning to tell me he just checked my basement since the power was down from 8:30 last night til 7:00 this morning. Thus no sump pump working after the backup battery died in the middle of the night. WTF! Basement is wall to wall carpet that's now soaked and trash. Unless I can get it sucked up before it gets moldy. Tough to do from 900 miles away. Oh, and all the boxes of my old Road & Track, Excellence, Pano, Boating, etc (some from the 70's) were sitting on the floor of my sotrage room. I'm sure they're trash now too.

Why is it every time it thunders in Wheaton, we loose power for hours!

I'll call my mother, she had a valve in a washing machine go and flood her kitchen and basement....




here is the link<ul><li><a href="http://www.rainbowintl.com/">http://www.rainbowintl.com/</a></li></ul>

that sucks though... my coworker in lombard had a similiar problem...

<ul><li><a href="http://www.servpro.com/locator/lookup.asp?stname=Illinois&amp;state=IL">click</a></li></ul>

ServiceMaster or a similar outfit called ProTech (sp?). If you used a plumber on the sump, they may offer a referral. Mine did. (Stephens Plumbing in Downer's Grove.)

FYI, Ed, ServiceMaster said I'd be about 375th on their list for carpet removal, with a 48-hour wait. ProTech had about 300 folks ahead of me, same timeframe.

This is the second sump/backup failure in 3 years for us. First time around involved a lot of fans and industrial dehumidifiers. YMMV, but sounds like your water was even deeper. If your basement walls were insulated, that's where you'll need to monitor for mold and rot, since the insulation likes to wick moisture upward. You've probably been around the block on this before...

I feel your pain. Hope you find a decent solution.

Got a local handyman to go in tomorrow to rip out the carpet, let it air a few days, then ServiceMaster on Friday to do mold remediation if necessary. Great to have a nice neighbor who works from home that can let everyone in.

as an ejector pump with grinding capabilities for solid waste produced at any of the lower level (basement) toilets, sinks, washer/dryer, etc... The second pump is situated slightly higher, just above the trigger mechanism for the first pump so theoretically it shouldn't kick on unless the first pump fails. It is not however a grinder as well.

Both pumps are tied into a battery back-up system made by Basement Watchdog, something that is considered the best by their industry standards. I've never had a failure, I've never had a problem and in the rare one time instance the battery was low on fluids, the damn alarm won't let you forget. The nice part is they are here locally in Lincolnshire.

Just an FYI.<ul><li><a href="http://www.basementwatchdog.com/basement_watchdog_bigdog.htm">Basement Watchdog</a></li></ul>

Obviously after 11 hours without power, both batteries dead.

I pump is my house pump, like most residences have. The other is the groundwater pump. In my TH development, each end unit has this 2nd pump t which is a deeper pump to catch and evacuate surrounding groundwater. My adjoining neighbor and the other interior units had no water, but the other end unit did. Hmmm... wonder if the water came up throught the deep sump and I have recourse with the homeowners association.

But after this, a Watchdog might be a good idea.