Keeping the sump pipe clean

I have a sump pit in my house, obviously. The builder appearantly did not sock the drail tiles or something because I get lots of sand/mud in the pit and occasionally tar. I can clean the pit every so often which is not too painful. I also clean the pump every so often, but actually since I switched from a sump pump to a sewage ejector sump, the pump itself has remained clean.

Anyway, what happens is the pipes become lined with this red mud. I snake the parts I can. I took the outside pipe off yesterday while making some modifications and noticed that the 1 1/2" pipe had been reduced to about

1/2" pipe by the caked on mud.

What strategy should I use to prevent the caking of this mud? Do I need a stronger pump? Something about the type of pipes (PVC)? Or the angle of the bends?

My new setup will allow me to snake it from the basement, and from outside, but still I wish I did not have to keep doing this every 6 months...

THanks,

CL

Reply to
dnoyeB
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dnoyeB wrote in news:3KKdnT6NDtjo6c_VnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Clay is so fine it won't settle fast enough to stay out of pumps and pipes. I installed my sump pipes with as much slope towards the outlet as possible so they empty faster after each pump cycle. If you could raise up the pipe inside the house and as far from the outlet as possible you could get a bit of flushing action that may help.

Unless you have a very small capacity pump or a lot of bends (more than two or three) then bigger pump won't help.

You could try to install some geotextile fabric around the inside of the sump to see if it helps. You need as much filter flow area as you can get to minimize plugging of the fabric. Make an inside sump pail about an inch or two smaller than the sump out of some sort of screen material - plastic is best to avoid galvanic action with pump steel. Tightly wrap fabric around screen, drop screen into sump and pump into screen. You must use the felt type fabric, NOT the woven type.

If you really want to try a cheap and quick fix - wrap the pump with some heavy plastic window screen material, the type recommended for cat and dog resistance and then wrap the screen with the fabric. Shape is like a big sack to get most flow area. Tie it up around the discharge pipe. Then just pull the wrapped up pump once in a while to check for clay buildup on fabric and rinse if needed.

The fabris has a very high flow capacity when it is clean but you may get flooding of basement if it plugs up with clay so you need to monitor it and either replace or clean when required. If pipe is left plugged then there is a risk of flooding from the existing setup as well. Either way maintenance is required. Pump would overheat and burnout if flow was restricted either on inlet side or outlet side. Inlet restriction is worse for pumps.

Most risk of plugging is with highest inflows to sump so check it after major storms plus on a regular schedule.

There may be some good news in that the amount of clay may reduce with time. The situation within the ground may stabilize and reduce the amount of clay contribution. You should do all of the usual yard drainage improvements to reduce the volume of water infiltrating to the sump. That would speed up stabilization. You can expect clay to re-appear after severe storms so check for plugging of filter after all bad storms even after problem seems to have disappeared for a few years.

As a possible idea - is there a potential source for the clay other than the obvious drain tiles? There could be a leaky water line causing the clay content. Is the sump pump running when it shouldn't be? Or more often then it should? Is it running during periods of dry weather when you wouldn't expect any water in the drain tiles? Is there a check valve on the pump or in the discharge line near the pump? If not the reverse flush from the line when the pump stops could be flashing clay from the sump pit or surrounding material. Is there a floor to the sump or is it sitting on bare soil? I've seen several sumps made from just a piece of pipe standing upright.

The amount of clay deposition you describe seems huge - is yard drainage really poor? Ground should slope well away from house in all directions and all roof spouts directed well away.

Reply to
Reno

I think there is just lots of water. Small stream runs next to my house. Rainfall does not affect the frequency of the sump pump.

Also, I like to stir up the dirt in my pit and let it eject into the backyard. It may be better for me to just keep snaking it...

Reply to
dnoyeB

Yes I think there are some problems. the water is clear. over time the sand and mud comes. Perhaps like about 6 months the pit requires a cleaning. Basement floor has cracked and doors to stick. The drain tiles were laid poorly. I think the sand and stuff is coming from the back of my house because the ground is soft in one spot...

Maybe I need to call and engineer or someone to inspect since my house is only 5 years old.

Reply to
dnoyeB

I surely would if I could get to it. its 1.5" line all the way to outside the house. Pump actually takes a 2" line. The drywall is up in the baasement though so I cant get at it anymore...

Reply to
dnoyeB

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