Pump failure: what to do in the first 10 minutes

1. Stop adding water

Stop using toilets, showers, washing machines and dishwashers. Every litre now has nowhere to go. On a commercial site, that means telling staff, not assuming they know.

2. Make the area safe

• Keep people and pets away from any standing water and from open chambers.
• Do not stand in water to reach electrical equipment.
• Never enter a sump, chamber or tank — the gases can be fatal within seconds.
• If water is anywhere near sockets or a consumer unit, isolate at the board if it is safe to do so.

3. Do the two safe checks

That is the extent of safe DIY. Everything past this needs isolation, gas awareness and the right kit.

• Is there power? Check the breaker or RCD for the pump circuit and whether the panel is lit.
• Is the alarm showing high level, or is the panel dead? A dead panel and a high-level alarm mean different things.

4. Protect what you can

• Lift stock, boxes and equipment off basement or plant-room floors.
• Photograph the water level and any damage — useful for insurance.
• Note the time it started; it helps establish cause.

5. Call, and give us these five things

With those five answers we can usually tell you on the phone whether this is a blocked-impeller job, an electrical fault or a tanker job — and send the right vehicle first time.

• Your postcode and how close a tanker or van can get.
• What type it is: sewage pump station, sump pump, treatment plant or septic tank.
• Whether it is overflowing now, or holding but alarming.
• Whether the panel has power and which lamps are lit.
• Pump make and model if you have it, plus whether there is a standby pump.

After it is fixed: stop the repeat

Every emergency callout should end with a cause, not just a working pump. Ask what failed and why. If the answer is rag, wipes, fat, a dead standby pump or a valve nobody had checked, the fix is an annual service and a written record — not waiting for the next 2am alarm.