$697Sump pump replacement, installed. The old pump hauled away and a bucket test before we leave.$697 sump pump replacement, installedBook Online
Open 24/7 for emergencies5.0 stars, 1,132 reviews
Residential
Service Areas
(703) 997-9757CallBook Online
MenuClose
Heating
Air Conditioning
Plumber
Drains & Sewers
Water Heater
Duct & Dryer Vent Cleaning
Price Estimators
Offers
About Us
Service Areas
Commercial
Call (703) 997-9757Book Online

Open 24/7 for emergencies

Video · Sump Pumps

How Does a Sump Pump Work? The Float Starts Everything

Water drains into a pit in your basement floor. As it rises, a float lifts and switches the pump on, the pump pushes the water up and out through a pipe, and a check valve keeps it from falling back.

Call (703) 997-9757

5.0 stars across 1,132 reviews

Get your price in writing

Send this and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

We’ll call or text this number about your request. By sending it you agree to our terms and privacy policy.

Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757

Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276

24/7 emergency serviceOften same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.

Our own plumbers, our own trucksNobody here is a subcontractor with a magnet on the door

The price is settled before the workYou see the number in writing before anything is taken apart

What you’re seeing in this video

It opens on an old, rusted sump basin lid, the cover over the pit where groundwater collects under a basement floor. A tech in a black long-sleeve shirt then carries lengths of white PVC pipe across a driveway past the lawn and a pickup.

Inside, the new discharge piping runs up from the pit with a check valve in the line. Text on screen explains the float switch, the part that decides when the pump runs.

Job footageSwiftPro
Topic
Sump Pumps
Length
0:29
Posted
September 30, 2026
Shot by
The SwiftPro crew, Northern Virginia

Why it matters in your house

  • The check valve is the one people forget. Without it, the water in the pipe drops back into the pit every cycle, and the pump runs far more often to move the same water.
  • Know where your discharge pipe ends outside. If it dumps right next to the foundation, much of that water soaks back down and returns to the pit.
  • A rusted lid like that one usually means an old system. If you can't remember when the pump went in, test it before the next big storm.

What does a sump pump actually do?

It keeps groundwater from rising into your basement. Drain tile around the foundation sends water to a pit, and the pump empties that pit whenever the water gets high enough to lift the float. A healthy one runs a little during wet weather and sits quiet when it's dry. You only notice it when it stops.

Want it done at your place? See Sump Pumps at SwiftPro or call (703) 997-9757.

More videos from the SwiftPro crew

A tech kneels in a basement window well beside a brick house scooping gravel into red buckets, a close-up looking down into a round drain opening in the well, and buckets of gravel lined up outside.0:38Sump Pump Float Switch Test and the Window Well Drain Before ItA tech in a black SwiftPro shirt carries a boxed sump pump from a wrapped SwiftPro van in a residential driveway.0:37Sump Pump Running Constantly? Signs the Old One Is FailingA red bucket full of black sludge and debris pulled from a sump pit.0:48When to Replace a Sump Pump, Told by a Bucket of SludgeA bucket of sludge from an old sump pit, a tech in glasses and a black SwiftPro hoodie carrying a boxed new sump pump from the SwiftPro van in a brick-house neighborhood, and the finished pit with a s0:19How Long Do Sump Pumps Last? An Old Pump Still Running SomehowA man in a black SwiftPro polo and light pants stands in front of the wrapped SwiftPro van and pitches a sump pump replacement, with a 'Don't wait for the flood' graphic showing before/after pit photo0:34How Often Should You Replace a Sump Pump? Start With a CheckSump pump system before and after: an old pump in a dirty open pit, then a new green cast-iron submersible pump.0:52How to Prevent Basement Flooding: A New Pump Before the Storm

See all 234 SwiftPro videos

Want this done at your house?

Rather pick the day yourself? Book online.

Call (703) 997-9757 Get your price in writing

SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276

Call Now Book Online
5.01,132 reviews