Is my sump pump broken if water is to the top?
When water reaches the very top, it is hard to tell if the system is working or if you need a whole new pump. This uncertainty often persists even if plumbers previously said lower water levels were fine, especially when something appears to be happening between the motor housing and the lower half.
Overview
People affected3 accounts across 2 forums
Workarounds found4 items attempted
Community agreement6 total upvotes
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
4 items+ Contribute
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Check if the pump is kicking on or if the float is stuckDid this help you?
- 2Pull the sump pump from the pit to inspect it and check powerDid this help you?
- 3Bypass the float plug to see if the pump runsDid this help you?
- 4Buy a new pump and DIY install itDid this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/HomeMaintenance2 people · September 2026
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 12Did I install this plumbing right or is it going to leak?
- 2Should I clean a faulty MAF sensor or just replace it?