Sump Pump Repair in Lake County, IL: Fix or Replace

Start with what the pump is doing

It hums but nothing moves.

The motor has power and the impeller is stuck. Silt, a stone, or a wad of lint, or sometimes air trapped in the pump body.

It runs and never shuts off.

Either the float is stuck up, water really is coming in that fast, or the check valve has failed and the same water keeps falling back in.

It does nothing at all.

Check the breaker, the outlet, then the float. A pump on a piggyback float plug can have a dead float and a healthy motor.

It starts and stops every few seconds.

The pit is too small, the float is set too low, or the check valve is missing. Short cycling kills a motor fast.

It runs, and water still comes over the floor.

The pump is not the problem. Look at the grade outside, the downspouts, and whether the discharge dumps water back beside the foundation.

What to check first, and what not to touch

Unplug it before you reach in.

Never put a hand in a pit that still has power.
Lift the float by hand.

If the motor starts, the float or its switch is the fault and the motor is fine.
Walk outside to the discharge.

A buried, crushed, frozen, or leaf-packed outlet stops a good pump.
Do not run a dry pump to test it.

Pour a bucket into the pit instead. Running dry burns the seal in seconds.
Keep extension cords out.

If water is near the panel, read the shut-off steps on emergency plumber first.

Repair, replace, or add a second pump

When a repair is worth it

A stuck float, a failed check valve, a blocked discharge, or a tripped outlet are all repairs. If the pump is a few years old and the fault sits outside the motor, fix it.

When the pump is finished

A motor that has run dry, a seized shaft, a cracked body, or a pump that trips the breaker every time is done. A pump short cycling in an undersized pit will fail again unless the pit is fixed too.

Pedestal or submersible

A pedestal pump keeps its motor on a post above the water. It is cheaper, easier to service, and louder. A submersible sits in the water, runs quieter, handles more solids, and is the normal choice under a finished basement. Pit size and how much the noise bothers you decide it.

What a battery backup buys you

It buys you the storm that cuts the power, and the night the main pump dies. A backup is a second pump with its own float and a deep cycle battery. It moves less water per minute than the main pump and runs for hours, not days. A water powered backup uses house pressure instead and never needs charging, but it only works on village water.

What changes the price

Pit depth and whether a liner goes in. Horsepower. Whether the discharge has to be re-run or connected to a storm sewer under permit. Whether a backup or an alarm goes in at the same visit.

Why this is a Lake County problem

One night in July 2017 reset the records: The Des Plaines River at Gurnee crested at 12.09 feet, above the old record of 11.95 feet from 1986. The National Weather Service put Lake County's damage from that flash flood at $12.70 million. Source for One night in July 2017 reset the records
It does not take a river: Libertyville says in its own stormwater plan that it routinely sees local surface flooding once rainfall passes 2 inches, and names 12 chronic problem areas. Source for It does not take a river
Where the water may go is a village rule: Buffalo Grove says a sump pump should not connect to the sanitary line, and wants discharge to the storm sewer or the lawn within 10 feet of the house. A storm sewer connection needs a permit, at a listed fee of $1,200. Source for Where the water may go is a village rule
Deerfield pays you to disconnect it properly: Sending sump water to the sanitary sewer is a code violation there, with daily fines, and the village rebates 20 percent of the work under its residential disconnection program. Source for Deerfield pays you to disconnect it properly

Work that often comes with this one

What your village asks for

How much does a sump pump cost to repair?

We do not quote, so any number here would be invented. What moves it is whether the fault is the float, the valve, the discharge, or the motor, whether the pit needs a liner, and whether the basement is finished.

Who would repair a sump pump?

A licensed plumber. A float, a plug, or a clogged outlet pipe is within reach of most homeowners, but work on the discharge line or a storm sewer connection needs a permit in most Lake County villages.

What is the typical lifespan of a basement sump pump?

There is no single number, because a pump wears by how often it runs. One in a dry basement that starts a few times a month outlasts one near the Des Plaines River that runs daily each spring. Check the date stamp, and treat a pump over ten years old as a candidate rather than a certainty.

What is a better alternative to a sump pump?

For most basements here, nothing replaces it. What helps alongside it is fixing the grade and downspouts, adding a backup and a water alarm, and, for sewage rather than groundwater, a backflow valve. Highland Park reimburses part of that through its sewer lateral cost-share.

What to put in the form for a pump job

What the pump is doing, and how old it is. Humming, silent, running nonstop, or cycling. Many pumps carry a date stamp on the housing or the motor label.
Where the discharge goes. Onto the lawn, into a storm sewer, into a pipe you cannot follow, or you have never looked.
Whether the basement is finished, and whether you want a backup. Both change how the job is priced, and a backup is cheaper added at the same visit.

North Shore Plumbing connects Lake County homeowners with a licensed local plumber. We are not a plumbing contractor.

Water rising in the pit?

Send what the pump is doing and which town you are in. A person reads every request. If we cannot place yours with a licensed plumber who covers your town, we tell you. See how it works.

The pump runs but the water does not go down