Finally swapped my sump pump after 9 years, wish I did it sooner

My house in Parma has had the same Zoeller sump pump since I bought it in 2016. It still ran fine, but I kept reading about how 7 to 10 years is the typical lifespan and I didn't want a flooded basement at 2am during a spring storm. I went back and forth between replacing it myself or calling a plumber, and the quotes I got were around $850 just for labor. I ended up doing it myself with a $240 pump from Home Depot and a buddy who helped me wrestle the old one out of the pit. The whole job took about 3 hours, and honestly the hardest part was just cleaning out the sludge at the bottom. Has anyone else waited too long on a sump pump and paid for it, or did yours actually last way past the expected life?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

alexk602mo ago

Oh man, best $240 you ever spent, right? I waited 11 years on mine and got lucky, but my neighbor down the street wasn't so blessed. His gave out during a nasty downpour and he had about 4 inches of water in his basement, ruined a bunch of stored Christmas stuff and old photo albums. He said the cleanup and new carpet cost him way more than what you spent on your pump, not even counting the labor. You dodged a bullet doing it when you did, and honestly cleaning that sludge out is half the battle. Good on you for not waiting for the 2am panic.

5