Your Sump Pump Check Valve for Dummies

Sump pump check valve

All things considered, we prefer that our DotD awards be presented to writers courageous enough to put their names on their work (or to concoct a reasonable nom de plume, such as "Jagg Xaxx"). On the other hand some of the most moronic writing at the mother lode of misinformation dates to before the site added bylines, and thus remains anonymous. That's why, every once in a while, we feature the sort of an anonymous drone freelancer (known as publish4u back in 2008) who wrote "How to Install a Sump Pump Check Valve" for the mother site.

The fact that the post remains on eHow.com suggests that Leaf Group hasn't figured out where to niche it, even if plenty of their HomeSteady and Hunker content is equally doofus. Regardless, publish4u demonstrated very quickly s/he had no idea how to perform what is in reality, a fairly simple task.

For starters, p4u barfed up a total of 166 words on the topic, 91 of which described the function of a sump pump. Nowhere in the introductions or instructions did p4u mention the function of a check valve! Nope, s/he never said, "A check valve prevents water from flowing downhill from the discharge pipe and back into the sump!"

Instead, this anonymous moron blathered about "purchas[ing] a valve no smaller in diameter than the existing drain pipe," "purchas[ing] couplings or adapters that fit according to the size of your drain pipe,"and then set out to "explain" how to install the valve:

4. Take the hacksaw or pipe cutter and cut a section of pipe to accommodate them.
5. File the cut edges with a metal file or utility knife.

And that's it. That's IT! No mention whatsoever of measuring for proper length, no mention of the correct orientation of the check valve, no mention of where the valve should be placed, no mention of actually installing the valve; just "file the... edges..." These so-called instructions are incomplete, misleading, and when you come right down to it, completely worthless!

Yet Demand Media/Leaf Group has allowed this garbage to remain online, collecting them pennies, for more than ten years! It's no wonder, then, that so many of our Dumbass of the Day winners hail from the mother lode of misinformation.

copyright © 2018-2021 scmrak

DDIY - PLUMBING