Sump pump, battery backup and ejector pump calls across Naperville and the western suburbs.
A pump that hums while the pit fills has power but can't move water. Call, and a plumber finds what's stopping it and gets the pit draining.
Naperville, Illinois Sump Pump Naperville handles sump pump calls from basements all over Naperville, on the DuPage County and Will County sides of town alike: sump pump repair and replacement, battery and water-powered backup pumps, new sump pits, sewage ejector pumps, and footing drains that still run to the sewer. We set the visit, and a plumber does the work once you've seen the price in writing.
Most of DuPage County sits on slow-draining silty clay, and the County's own stormwater ordinance says the county "drains poorly because of flat topography and soils of low permeability." In spring the water table in the most common soil here sits well above any basement floor, so the house depends on drain tile laid in gravel around the footing. It collects that groundwater and empties it into the pit, and the pump's whole job is to keep up.
City fact sheets point out that seams of sand or gravel in the clay can steer water toward one basement more than the next. Two houses on the same block can run their pumps very differently for that reason.
How close to the surface the spring water table can sit in Markham soil, the most common in DuPage County (USDA soil survey).
Rain in 48 hours at the gauge just northwest of downtown in the April 2013 storm (National Weather Service).
Average time without power for City of Naperville electric customers in 2025. A backup pump here mostly covers a main pump that fails with the lights on.
Median year Naperville homes were built, by Census estimates. A house that age may still have its original basin and check valve.
Start with what you can see from the basement stairs. Each of these points somewhere different, and that's where your plumber starts.
Power isn't reaching it (a tripped GFCI outlet or breaker), the float is pinned against the basin wall, or the motor has burned out. Call first. If the floor by the outlet is dry, look for a tripped GFCI or breaker while you wait.
Sump pump repair
Rain is reaching the pit faster than the pump can lift it out. A pump sized for an ordinary May, a worn impeller or a small basin can all lose ground in a downpour, and the fix is a larger pump or a second one in the same pit.
Storm flooding guide
That water is coming back from the sewer, and a sump pump can't stop it. Overhead sewers, backflow devices and footing drains moved off the sewer are the fixes on that side.
Telling sewer water from groundwater
In January the discharge line can ice up where it leaves the house, and the pit fills behind it. Re-pitching the line and adding a relief fitting near the wall keeps it from happening again.
Frozen discharge line guide
The impeller can't turn, or air is trapped below the check valve. If the floor by the outlet is dry, unplug it after a few seconds so the motor doesn't overheat. The pit keeps filling with the pump off, so call right away.
The float switch is stuck in the on position, often hung up on its cord, the basin or the discharge pipe. A pump that runs dry wears itself out quickly.
After a storm, steady cycling can just be groundwater. In dry weather it usually means the check valve is letting water fall back into the pit, so the pump keeps lifting the same few gallons.
You answer a few questions on the phone and approve a written price. Everything else happens at the pit.
Say what the pump is doing and how close the water is to the rim. If it's humming and the floor by the outlet is dry, unplug it while we talk.
We schedule a plumber and settle the time with you. If that takes a check of the schedule, you get a call back with it.
Your plumber fills the pit, watches the float trip and the check valve close, follows the discharge line outside, then writes up the price. You only pay for work you agreed to.
The job is finished when the pump drains the pit, shuts itself off and sends the water out into the yard, well clear of the foundation.
Naperville ZIPs 60540, 60563, 60564 and 60565 are all on the list, in DuPage and Will counties. So are Aurora, Plainfield, Bolingbrook and Joliet to the south and west, Lisle, Wheaton and the rest of DuPage to the north and east, and Orland Park and the southwest Cook County suburbs.
Town pages explain what changes the job there:
The pump ran all night and the floor still got wet. Sorting out which kind of water it was comes first.
Storm flooding guide
Ice where the line leaves the house stops the water cold. The fix is in how the pipe is pitched and where it ends.
Frozen line guide
Pump, valve, basin, discharge line, permit: each line on a written price has its own reasons to go up.
Cost guideProbably not, if it's spring or the days right after a storm. Drain tile keeps feeding the pit until the ground drains, and in DuPage clay that takes a while. Call if it keeps cycling through a dry spell, or runs with the pit already empty. The pump repair page covers both.
Usually, yes. A backup also takes over when the main pump jams, burns out or falls behind in a downpour, and that happens with the lights on. Homes outside city limits are on ComEd rather than the City's utility. The backup pump page explains both.
It can, when both pumps are on hand. The pit is already open and the discharge piping is already being reworked, so doing both at once saves a second trip. Mention both when you call so the right parts come along.
A sump pit usually has a loose or open lid and fairly clear groundwater in it. An ejector pit has a sealed, bolted lid with a vent pipe rising from it, and it takes water from a basement toilet, shower or laundry. The ejector pump page covers that pit.
Yes. Naperville ZIPs 60540, 60563, 60564 and 60565 are all on the list, along with Aurora, Plainfield, Bolingbrook and Joliet to the south and west. Check any address on the areas page.
The visit starts with your plumber filling the pit and watching the pump work, so the fault shows up while you're standing there. The fix gets tested the same way before anyone leaves.