Pump It Up: All Pumps Need To Be In Good, Working Shape
Posted on: 29 December 2014
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If you're a first-time homeowner, you're going to find that your relationship to water will change drastically. Not only will you be responsible for all water costs, including watering your landscaping, but you're going to have to monitor and control the amount of stagnant water on your property. This includes monitoring all the pumps on your property to ensure they're working well. Water that is supposed to be on your property has to be kept moving at least a little, while water that is not supposed to be there has to be removed. If you don't do that, you could end up with these unwelcome guests hanging around.
Mold Spores
Call it mold or mildew—whatever the name, the black, brown, pink, and gray dots and smudges that grow on your walls are never what you want to see in a basement. If you live somewhere that floods easily or that has a high water table, you have to ensure that your basement is kept dry. A sump pump can remove the excess water, but if the sump pump breaks, and the water builds, you can end up with fungi all over your basement.
The resulting mold can infiltrate walls and creep up to other parts of the house. This gives the house at best a bad smell and messy look, but the mold can also set off allergies and other health problems.
Mosquito Larvae
A still pond might look peaceful, but the water in it is probably becoming quite stagnant. Still water is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, even in typically dry regions. This can contribute to disease spread in areas where West Nile Virus or chikungunya are common. It also creates clouds of bugs that make staying outside on a warm summer evening distinctly unpleasant.
Pond pumps and pumps that move water up to the top of mini-waterfalls in water features help keep the water moving quite a bit. You don't need whitewater rapids in your backyard, but you do need to be sure the water in your pond, fountain, or other water feature is moving water at a consistent rate. If the pump slows down too much, or if it doesn't turn on when it's supposed to, the water in the pond can stop moving just enough so that random areas no longer get enough circulation, and bugs can take over.
Algae and Bacteria
Still water also provides a nice place for algae and bacteria to flourish. These can choke out plants that you have in ponds, make fish ill, and generally make the water and water fixtures in your yard look awful. Keeping constant circulation in the water means the bacteria and algae can't gain a foothold in the water fixture. You still have to keep the water clean, replacing it occasionally and using any disinfectants that are meant for the particular type of water fixture that you have—this prevents algae and bacteria from surviving in the water to begin with.
Pump Service Assistance
All this can be a little overwhelming if you're transitioning from living in apartments to owning your own home. In an apartment, you had maintenance crews taking care of these issues every few days, and if something broke, you could call the office and have it fixed. Now it's all your responsibility, and that can seem like a lot to handle.
Luckily there are companies like Stettler Supply Co that can inspect and fix multiple types of pumps. You don't have to call one place for the sump pump and another for the fountain pump unless you want to. But whether you go with a company that fixes all types of pumps, or companies that specialize in one type, the important thing is that you do work with these companies to ensure that everything on your property continues to work. That's the best way to keep your property and your family healthy.