Heading towards the end of the year, one of the last things that will be on your mind is thinking about sewage pumps, unless you are undertaking a renovation or something similar. But choosing the right sewage pump for you needs shouldn't be an afterthought. After all, not all pumps are created equal. There are many different types of sewage pumps such as effluent pumps, single channel pumps and grinder pumps.
Effluent pumps are designed to be able to pump filtered effluent (grey water) from a septic tank into a leach field, holding tank, waste treatment or even a garden. They can generally handle some small soft solids. Due to their capacity to handle semi-solid waste, people tend to use them as a sump pump, where leaves, grass clippings or other small bits of debris may clog up a sump pump.
A Sing Channel pump has a one-piece impeller allowing the passage of large bits of waste straight through. They are also commonly used in flooded areas and in general sewage pumping.
A grinder pump is used to pump sewage from a building or home to the municipal sewage system, when the buildings plumbing is at a lower level than the main pipeline or whenever there is not enough gradient in the slope to ab able to allow sewage to flow under the effect of gravity to the municipal system. The special grinders inside the pump reduce the pieces of waste to a slurry that allows it to be easily moved on by the pump.
As sewage pumps handle solid or semi-solid waste as well as liquids, their most common usage is for basement bathrooms or septic systems. One thing to keep in mind, is that there is a difference between a sewage pump which can transport solid waste, and a macerator pump. If you are ever unsure on which pump may be best fitted to your needs. Feel free to reach out to our team at Pumps2you for a wide range of advice on the matter.
Once you have chosen the ideal sewage pump for your needs some simple but crucial tips for caring for you newly acquired pumps are:
- Be careful what you put into your sewage system. While the system is designed to handle wastewater, human waste and biodegradable products like toilet paper. However, other non-biodegradable products can present a large problem in reducing the efficiency of the sewage system.
- Some of the most common culprits are sanitary towels, bandages, cleaning wipes, condoms and other synthetic objects. Even if a product claims to be biodegradable they tend to fail in their ability to break down in the water. An easy way to avoid any unwanted clogs and blockages in your sewage pumps and system is to just throw those products into the bin.
- Being able to maintain regular checks to ensure that your pumps are working as intended (though this may be harder to do with the submersible pumps).