How Much Does Sump Pump Servicing Cost? What You Are Paying For

How much sump pump servicing costs depends on what kind of pump you have, how many pumps sit in the chamber, how easy the chamber is to reach and how much silt and lime has built up since the last visit. A routine service on a single, well-kept pump is a short job. The bill grows when the chamber needs cleaning out, the drainage channels feeding it need flushing, or a part has to be replaced. The useful question is not just the headline price but what the visit includes, because two quotes for a "sump pump service" can describe very different amounts of work.

What kind of pump do you actually have?

Start by working out whether your pump handles groundwater or sewage, because that decides who should service it and how the waste is dealt with. The two look similar from above but are priced differently.

A groundwater sump is usually part of a basement waterproofing system: water that gets through the walls or floor runs behind a membrane, along channels, into a sump chamber, and a pump lifts it out to a drain. A lightwell or basement-yard sump does the same job for rainwater. A sewage pump, sometimes called a package pumping station, lifts foul water from a basement toilet, shower or kitchen up to the sewer. Sewage pumps deal with solids and foul waste, so cleaning the chamber is dirtier work and the waste has to go to licensed disposal. Many London basements have both, and a quote should name each one.

What does a sump pump service include?

A proper service tests that the pump starts and stops when it should, checks the parts that usually fail, and cleans the chamber so the pump is not sitting in sludge. If a visit is only a quick look and a test run, it should be priced as that.

• Test run. The chamber is filled to check that the float switch starts the pump, that the pump empties the chamber and that it switches off again.
• Float switches and alarm. Floats stick, and high-level alarms fail quietly. Both should be tested, along with any battery backup, since the battery is what keeps the pump running in a power cut.
• Non-return valve. If this valve fails, pumped water runs back into the chamber and the pump cycles on and off, which wears it out early.
• Chamber clean. Silt, grit and the white lime deposit that leaches out of new concrete settle in the chamber and can jam the impeller or a float.
• Channels and discharge. On waterproofing systems, the perimeter channels are flushed through their access points, and the discharge pipe is checked to make sure it runs freely to the drain.

For most systems the operation and maintenance manual, or the waterproofing designer, sets a service interval, and at least once a year is a common recommendation. Follow what your system's paperwork says rather than a general rule.

What sets the price of a sump pump service?

Six things move the price: the number of pumps, access, the state of the chamber, whether the channels or discharge need jetting, any parts, and when the work is done. The labour of the test itself is rarely the expensive part.

• Number of pumps. Many basements use a twin-pump chamber so one pump can take over if the other fails. Two pumps take longer to test and service than one.
• Access. A chamber in a basement plant room is quicker than one under a fitted floor, a kitchen unit or a finished bedroom where panels have to be lifted and replaced carefully.
• Condition. A chamber serviced every year is quick to clean. One left for several years, packed with silt or lime, takes much longer and produces more waste.
• Jetting. Silted perimeter channels or a partly blocked discharge pipe may need high-pressure drain jetting, which is a separate job and should be listed separately.
• Parts. A float switch, a non-return valve or an alarm battery are small items. A replacement pump is not, and should never be added to a service invoice without your agreement first.
• Timing. Work in normal hours costs less than an evening or night visit. Routine servicing should always be booked in normal hours.

Our published rate card shows how time bands change what drainage work costs, and the same principle applies to anyone who services pumps.

When is a sump pump worth repairing rather than replacing?

Repair it when the fault is in a part around the pump, such as a float, valve or alarm. Replace it when the pump itself has failed and is old, or when the pump is too small for the water it has to move.

A stuck float or a failed non-return valve is a common fault and a relatively small repair. A jammed impeller can often be freed and cleaned. A burnt-out motor, a pump that trips the electrics, or one that runs but no longer moves water usually means a replacement pump. Ask for the pump's age and make if the engineer recommends replacing it, and ask whether the new pump is like for like or larger. If the old pump failed because it was running almost non-stop, a bigger pump or a second pump may be the real fix, and the quote should say so.

Who should service a sump pump: a pump engineer or a drainage company?

The pump, its controls and any electrical fault belong with a pump engineer or the waterproofing installer. The drainage side, meaning the chamber clean, silted channels, a blocked discharge pipe and waste removal, is drainage work. Many jobs need both.

If your system is still under the installer's warranty, call the installer first. Some warranties need servicing by the installer or an approved contractor, and a service by someone else may affect the cover. Read the terms before booking anyone else. Once the warranty has ended, you can shop around. Where the pump is fine but water is backing up because the channels or the pipe beyond the pump are silted or blocked, a drainage company is often the right call, and paying a pump engineer to replace a working pump is the wrong answer. Electrical work on the control panel is not a drainage job and should be done by someone qualified for it.

Is a sump pump servicing contract worth it?

For a basement flat or home with one pump, booking a service once a year is usually enough. For commercial buildings, blocks of flats and basements with sewage pumps, a contract that fixes what each visit includes makes quotes easier to compare and budget for.

Compare contracts on what they include, not on the monthly figure alone:

• How many visits a year, and is the chamber cleaned at each one or only tested?
• Are the alarm and battery backup tested, and is the battery replacement priced?
• Are call-outs between visits included, and at what rate outside normal hours?
• How are parts priced, and is a replacement pump always quoted before it is fitted?
• Is waste disposal included, with a waste transfer note for sewage pump waste?

Our guide to comparing drain maintenance packages covers the same questions for the rest of a building's drains. For sites that want the drainage side of a pumped system itemised alongside jetting and camera checks, our commercial drainage maintenance contracts list each item as its own line.