Hi there my house water filter backwashes every night into the sump, which then pumps it out of the basement through a wall and out. I was wondering if there is a reason why it doesn't just empty into the exit pipe, instead of the sump. Is this to 'exercise' the sump pump? Or just plaine wrong?
Thanks
Dean
It all depends on where the sump pump is putting the water. If you have on site septic, you probably don't want the backwash filling it every night. I used to send the backwash into an old unused shallow well in the basement of the house I lived in.
As far a public sewerage is concerned, I cannot attest as to how the "authority" likes handling the extra water.
One thing that I did learn, after many years with that system was that it was not necessary to run it every night. I think by the time we sold the house, the backwash ran twice a week.
____________________ Bill Waller New Eagle, PA
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Sorry - I do have a septic system, but its completely independent of that. The sump emptys down a hill onto the roadside, nowhere near the septic field.
That is why the system evacuates the way it does. If it were piped into the septic system, you would have real problems with the amount of water dumped every night. As long as it does not have a negative impact on your yard, let it be. :-) You may, however, want to look at the possibility of reducing the number of times a week you backwash.
____________________ Bill Waller New Eagle, PA
snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net
As long as it is plain water, you will be ok. If for example, it is a water softener that is recharging, the water discarded is salty, which would eventually kill any plants the discharge ends up on.
That's the usual way to use a sump for the drain discharge. To go into the line from the sump pump would mean it would have to have a check valve in it or the water would want to run downhill into the pump and sump. If there were a check valve, then the drain water would have to be capable of going up the line and then outside wherever and the discharge water can only go up from the control valve on the filter a few feet; usually not more than 5-6'. If you put it into the pump line, every time the sump pump came on it would pressurize the control valve drain line back to the control valve... thta's not good.
Any restriction in the free flow of the drain water causes insufficient backwashing of the filter mineral/media which then causes the filter to fail. So no check valve in the filter/softener drain line. So does less often backwashes as opposed to more frequent backwashing. So don't go changing the schedule unless you want to assume the risk of that. Us filter/softener guys don't just pick numbers or frequency out of our ear, the frequency depends on what and how much of it is to be filtered and then how many gallons of water can be treated before a backwash (or regeneration) is required. That normally depends on the number of people in the household.
Also, a septic system that is operating correctly, will have no problem with the supposed "extra" (wasted!) water. The filter is making bad water good, so how's that wasting water? So says the latest and repeated EPA research on softeners specifically. Actually, all 3-4 studies of the subject have said the same thing....
Gary Quality Water Associates
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