John Davies wrote:

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 17:50:40 -0500, R Kannan
wrote:

I noticed that the sump pump in my house seems to be running every 1.5 hrs
even when there is no rain. When I checked the sump, I found that there
seemed to be some flow into the sump from one of the two pipes draining
into it. How can I find out where the water is getting drained from?

Hook up your garden hose to the pipe and (carefully) turn the water
on. Listen for water flow to see if you can determine where the water
is going. It should be going into a drain pipe higher up in the
basement or ceiling.That's the only thing that comes to my mind....

Do you have any other drains that seem restricted or are backing up?
If a drain pipe is restricted the water can back up through your sump
drain.

Good luck on this one. You may end up calling a plumber. Or get some
enzymatic drain cleaner intended for septic treatment and treat all
your drains for a few weeks to see if the problem goes away.

John

I do have one slow drain but I thought the clog was local (in the trap may
be) but I would look into it. Thanks.

I thought the sump collects ground water around the basement walls, Is there
an overflow mechanism that allows backed up drain water to collect in the
sump. The water is collecting very slowly (not at the pace you would expect
if a drain water is flowing in). Also, should'nt shutting off all water
stop the flow? I am not sure if it does that.




John Davies TLCA 14732
http://home.comcast.net/~johnedavies/
'96 Lexus LX450
'00 Audi A4 1.8T quattro
Spokane WA USA